Class 

Book ^ 

Copyright 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: 



WORKS BY 

WARREN LEE GOSS 

War Stories 

JED. A Boy's Adventures in thb Army of 
1861-65. 

TOM CLIFTON; or, Western Boys with Grant 
AND Sherman's Army. 

JACK ALDEN. A Story of Adventure in the 
Virginia Campaigns, 1861-65. 

IN THE NAVY; or, Father against Son. A 
Story of Naval Adventures in thb Great 
Civil War. 

Each ^ fully illustrated^ ismo, cloth. cents. 

Biography 

A LIFE OF GRANT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. 
Fully illustrated, 8vo, cloth. $1.30. 



" Mr. Goss has an extremely readable style. He 
tells his story in a straightforward manner, without 
any attempt at fine writing. His descriptions are 
often dramatic and are to be absolutely depended 
upon for historical accuracy." — Boston Transcript. 

THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 
Nev^t York 



A LIFE OF GRANT 

for 

BOYS AND GIRLS 



BY 

WARREN LEE GOSS 

AUTHOR OF "JED," "JACK ALDEN," "RECOLLECTIONS OF 
A PRIVATE," "THE SOLDIER'S STORY OF ANDERSON- 
VILLE," "TOM CLIFTON," "IN THE NAVY," ETC. 



"For of illustrious men the whole earth is the sepulcher," 

—Pericles. 



NEW YORK 

THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 



Copyright, 191 i, 
By THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY. 



©CI.A'<:05()44 



DEDICATED TO 
THE BOYS AND GIRLS OF AMERICA 



PREFACE 

Just fifty years ago, in the spring of 1861, this coun- 
try was entering upon a war to test, in the words of 
President Lincoln, " whether a nation conceived in lib- 
erty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are 
created equal, can long endure." The fate, not only of 
the nation but of civilization, hung in the balance ; for if 
the force that would break up the union of states pre- 
vailed, not only would human slavery be perpetuated in 
a large section, but the weakened fragments of the na- 
tion would fall an easy prey to foreign powers that had 
long watched with jealousy the great power growing up 
in the Western hemisphere. 

In this crisis hundreds of men sprang to the defense of 
the Union, leaving their farms and workshops for the 
hard life of the camp, comforting their wives and chil- 
dren with the assurance that it was better to have a 
country without husband or father than husband or 
father without a country. Of this army so swiftly gath- 
ered, the majority were young men, many mere lads of 
high school age. 

So suddenly did this war break upon an unprepared 
country that it was difficult to find competent officers to 
organize, drill, and command these volunteer soldiers, 
much more to plan campaigns and lead them to victories. 
General after general was tried, till at length the atten- 
tion of the country was turned towards a simple, silent, 
steadfast man in the Army of the West who was win- 

yii 



viii 



PREFACE 



ning victories; who seemed to know how and when to 
strike, and who was able to follow up one telling blow 
by another. This man was promoted from one rank to 
another till he stood at the head of an army of a million 
men and led it to such a victory that every inch of its 
territory was restored to the nation and every man who 
had raised his hand against it laid down his arms. 

That silent soldier not only proved himself one of the 
greatest generals of all times, but in all his life, whether 
as a private citizen or as the country's Chief Magistrate, 
showed such high and manly qualities as to make him 
worthy of being studied by all American youth. 

The boys of this day have the same mettle as those of 
fifty years ago; and in the problems they will meet it 
will be well for them to know what was done by those 
before them. They know those boys of '6i, but they 
know them as gray-haired veterans to whose tales they 
have loved to listen. Those veterans, who once served 
their country on the battle-field, can best serve now by 
instilling lessons of patriotism in the minds of the 
younger generation. 

This offering of an old soldier is addressed to girls as 
well as boys, since the women on both sides of the great 
war for the Union showed devotion as great and self- 
sacrificing as did the men. The girls also will find the 
life of General Grant worthy of study as an example of 
the virtues of patience, faith, and patriotism, and it will 
be of advantage to all young people to contemplate a 
character so honest, simple, and devoid of pretense as 
that of our greatest commander. 

W. L. G. 

New York City, 
July I, 191 1. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Boyhood and Early Training i 

II. Young Grant at West Point iS 

III. A Lieutenant in the Mexican War .... 25 

IV. Commissioned a Captain 38 

V. A Soldier in Peace 50 

VI. Working for a Living 58 

VII. Colonel of the 2ist Illinois 69 

VIII. Brigadier-General Grant 79 

IX. Unconditional Surrender Grant 88 

X. The Battle of Shiloh 99 

XL Grant in Command of the Department of Ten- 
nessee no 

XII. Trying to reach Vicksburg 118 

XIII. Marching and battling for Vicksburg . . . 127 

XIV. The Investment of Vicksburg 137 

XV. The Surrender of Vicksburg 148 

XVL The Chattanooga Campaign 154 

XVII. Grant Commander-in-chief 167 

XVIII. The Encounter in the Wilderness .... 179 

XIX. The Battle of the Wilderness 187 

XX. Battling at Spottsylvania 197 

XXI. Still Fighting and Marching On 209 

XXII. On to Petersburg 216 

ix 



X CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXIII. The Investment of Petersburg 225 

XXIV. The Great Mine Explosion 235 

XXV. Destroying Confederate Hopes 245 

XXVI. Closing in for the Final Campaign .... 254 

XXVII. Lee's Race for Life 262 

XXVIIL Grant's Call to the Presidency 277 

XXIX. Grant as President 291 

XXX. A Visit to Foreign Lands 307 

XXXI. The Tragedy in Wall Street 319 

XXXII. The Last Battle 325 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

President Lincoln and General Grant . . . Frontispiece v< 

OPPOSITE 
PAGE 

General Taylor at Monterey 30 

The Charge on Fort Donelson 96 

General Grant at Shiloh 106 ^ 

A March in the Mud 122 ^ 

Gunboats and Mortar Boats on the Mississippi . . . 130 

The Siege of Vicksburg 146*^ 

The Battle of Lookout Mountain 164 

Officers in Washington 176 

Grant and Meade in the Wilderness 182 

Hancock's Breastworks on Fire 192 ' 

A Southern Road 206 ^ 

Intrenching 230 

A Messenger from the Enemy 254'^ 

Surrender of Lee's Army 276 

General Grant and his Family 292 

xi 



A Life of Grant for Boys and 
Girls 

CHAPTER I 

BOYHOOD AND EARLY TRAINING 

Several hundred years ago, there hved among the 
hills and heaths of Scotland a family named Grant. 
All Scotchmen are supposed to be hard-headed, but 
since this family (both in England and in Scotland) 
took for their motto " Stand Fast," we may suppose 
that they were a bit more hard-headed even than their 
neighbors. In 1630 IMatthew Grant turned away 
from his native land and set his face towards the 
savage wilderness of America, a much more arduous 
undertaking than could be found now short of a trip 
to the North Pole. As yet there were but two colo- 
nies between which to choose, Virginia and Massachu- 
setts, and he reached the latter in 1630. 

In 1636 we find Matthew Grant settled in Windsor, 
Connecticut, where he lived for over forty years, 
serving his generation like a good man and true. He 
was a surveyor at a time when every rod of land had 
to be measured and allotted to the settlers as they 
arrived. He chopped and plowed and grubbed a 



2 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



farm out of the wilderness, or fought Indians with 
his flintlock musket, whichever happened to be in 
the day's work. And he left sons and grandsons, a 
long line, all such hard workers and good fighters and 
honest men, that the one who became the greatest 
general of his time and President of his country had 
no need to be ashamed of his forebears. 

The Grant family seems never to have missed any 
opportunity for fighting, but there was a great deal 
of it to be done in those pioneer days. In the war 
against the French and Indians in Canada, both Noah 
and Solomon Grant held commissions in the English 
army and both were killed in that contest. Noah 
Grant's son, also named Noah, was a captain in the 
Continental Army, serving at Bunker Hill and there- 
after to the close of the Revolutionary War at York- 
town. At the close of the war the Continental Con- 
gress had no money with which to pay its soldiers, 
but it could offer them grants of Western land. 
Captain Grant, like many others, took his family 
to Ohio, then the far West. Before he could make 
provision for the support of his family. Captain 
Grant died, and his children passed into the care 
of his friends and neighbors. Of these, Jesse Grant 
found a home in the family of Judge Tod. The boys 
of that day were expected to work hard etiough to pay 
for their keep, which young Grant faithfully did. 
When old enough he learned the tanner's trade, and 
soon set up in that business for himself. 

Jesse Grant married Hannah Simpson, and on 
April the 27th, 1822, their son Ulysses was born. 



BOYHOOD AND EARLY TRAINING 3 



In many respects the parents were opposites in per- 
son, temperament, and character. The father was 
tall, almost six feet, energetic and shrewd, much given 
to talk, dogmatic and aggressive in manner, making 
enemies and friends in about equal degree. The 
mother was slim, handsome, but not vain, patient and 
uncomplaining, self-poised, little given to talk, gossip, 
or bragging; she made many friends and no enemies. 
Of her ancestors but little is known, though she was 
said to be as proud of them as her husband was of his, 
and that they were as martial as the Grants. All ac- 
counts agree in saying that Ulysses got his qualities 
of patience, reticence, and good nature from his 
mother. It is said by her neighbors that she never 
cried and seldom laughed. Her husband said in after 
years, " Her steadiness and strength of character have 
been the stay of the family through life." 

At the time of Ulysses' birth Mr. Grant had a tan- 
nery at Point Pleasant, Ohio, and a year afterwards 
removed to Georgetown, the county seat of Brown, 
where he established a tannery, and bought a farm, 
part tillage and part woodland. One of the evident 
reasons for this change was that bark was plentiful 
and cheap. It was here that Ulysses, the future gen- 
eral and President, lived until he went to the Military 
Academy at West Point. 

Georgetown is situated on a plateau ten miles back 
from the Ohio River, and is a big clearing hewed 
out from the virgin forest. It was a farming com- 
munity, largely made up of people who had come 
from Virginia and Kentucky^ bringing with them 



4 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Southern prejudices and sympathies; though there 
were a few who, Hke the Grants, were Northern by 
birth or in sentiment. The village consisted of about 
twenty dwellings, with farm buildings and shops. 
The houses were small, with few conveniences and no 
luxuries. The house where the Grants first lived here 
had but two rooms and an attic. It was warmed by 
a large open fireplace, where the cooking for the fam- 
ily was done in pots, kettles, and other primitive con- 
trivances. In a few years, however, Jesse Grant, by 
economy and sagacious business tact, got rich for the 
times and place, and built a brick house and wore 
gold spectacles. From the foregoing it will be seen 
that the environment in which young Grant was 
brought up was without great refinement, and his life 
hard and laborious. 

Jesse Grant, it is said, had had only six months of 
schooling in all his life; but by reading and self-cul- 
ture he had become an intelligent and well-read man. 
He saw, however, the great advantage that educa- 
tional training gave, and was grimly determined that 
his son should have it. There were no public schools 
in the village or near there, so he sent Ulysses to a 
school kept by John D. White and supported by sub- 
scription. 

The teaching in this school was primitive; there 
were no graded classes, and of some thirty or forty 
pupils some were learning their A B C's, others arith- 
metic, writing, and reading, and all were taught by 
the same teacher in one room. The better to enforce 
discipline and instruction, the teacher kept a formida- 



BOYHOOD AND EARLY TRAINING 5 



ble sheaf of long beech switches, of which he some- 
times used on his pupils as many as a whole bunch 
in a single day. Such, however, was the general prac- 
tice of the teachers of his times! It was then firmly 
believed that a boy's reverence for his teacher, his 
obedience and deportment, as well as his general edu- 
cation, were greatly improved by the use of the rod. 
There is but little doubt that the future general got 
the full benefit of this " beating in " of information 
and loving kindness; it is possible that it may have 
influenced his conduct afterwards when he chastised 
his enemies of the great Civil War. In this school 
he remained and became w^ll grounded in the ele- 
mentary branches of study, until he was fourteen 
years of age. 

At an early age the little Ulysses showed great 
fondness for horses. It is said that when he could 
scarcely walk, he was seen playing around them, get- 
ting under their feet, hanging by tail or mane, or try- 
ing to get on their backs by aid of a box or the man- 
ger. He was also getting, in addition to going to 
school, another kind of education by work. He be- 
gan driving a team when seven years old, drawing all 
the wood for the house and shop and bark for the 
tannery. He also broke the bark for the big coffee- 
mill-like hopper of the tannery. The boy did not, 
however, like any kind of work that belonged to a 
tannery and he avoided it all he could, without posi- 
tive disobedience to his father, though ever ready to 
do any work which required the use of a team of 
horses. He seemed intuitively to understand them, 



6 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



and horses appeared to love, obey, and have confi- 
dence in the gentle firmness of the boy. The father 
allowed him, when still quite young, to have almost 
the entire control of those he owned, and even al- 
lowed him to sell and buy them. At an early age he 
became wonderfully proficient in training, breaking 
to harness, and riding horses. 

When he was eight years of age an incident occurred 
which, though trivial and amusing, had its signifi- 
cance. A neighbor had a colt that Ulysses wanted 
very much. His father offered twenty dollars for it, 
that being all he thought it worth ; but the owner stood 
for twenty-five. As the boy wanted it very badly, 
the father finally yielded, telling him to go and bar- 
gain for the colt, and, if the owner would not take 
less, to pay twenty-five dollars for it. So when 
Ulysses went to buy it he said, " Father says I may 
offer you twenty dollars, and if you won't take that 
I am to offer you twenty-two and a half ; and if you 
won't take that for your colt, I am to pay you twenty- 
five dollars." Of course the boy got the colt that 
his little heart coveted, and the owner got his price. 

When this story got out the boys of the village 
teased and ridiculed the little trader unmercifully, 
causing him heart burnings which he could not soon 
forget. This showed, however, a characteristic in 
Ulysses that he carried through life. He meant to 
have that colt, as he meant to have Donelson, Vicks- 
burg, and Lee's army, when he wanted them; and 
he conducted all his negotiations therefor with the 
same straightforward candor. All through life he 



BOYHOOD AND EARLY TRAINING 7 



disliked indirect or crooked methods of dealing with 
men; and, as this narrative progresses, it will be seen 
that this was the cause of some of his failures, as well 
as of his great successes. 

Another characteristic which young Grant showed 
during these early years was his dislike to turn back 
(in his Memoirs he calls it a superstition). When 
driving a team, if by accident he passed a place he 
was looking for, he kept straight on until he came 
to a fork in the road that carried him back by another 
route. This characteristic is shown in all his bat- 
tles and marches from the beginning to the close of 
the great Civil War, where he commanded larger 
armies, fought more battles, and won more victories 
than any other general of modern times, — victories 
that gave to this great Empire of States of which we 
are so justly proud, union and peace. 

Ulysses Grant was not thought to be a remarkably 
bright boy — but he was one who did things! A 
small circus had come to Georgetown, which he, with 
other boys of the village, attended. One of the at- 
tractions was a trick pony, whose back was so round 
that there was little chance to find a seat there, and 
its mane had been cut ofif so there was nothing to hold 
to. A reward of five dollars was offered to any boy 
who could ride it without being thrown. Ulysses 
did not care to try to catch a kangaroo, for which 
a reward also was offered, but after looking on at 
the performance of the trick pony, and seeing him 
throw every boy that tried to ride him, he wanted to 
try that. The pony, trained for this purpose, tried 



8 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



all his tricks to throw him, but Ulysses threw his arms 
around the pony's neck, and stuck to his back and 
conquered. He walked off with the five dollars, say- 
ing: "That pony was as round as an apple." 

When eleven years of age the boy learned to plow, 
and from that time forward did all the work done 
with horses on the place. He furrowed corn and 
potatoes, brought in the crops when harvested, besides 
taking care of two or more horses and one or two 
cows, as well as sawing wood and attending school 
regularly. 

He was not only an industrious boy, but an obedi- 
ent one. In his Memoirs he records the fact that 
neither his father nor mother ever whipped or scolded 
him, which is quite remarkable, considering the meth- 
ods of those times. He learned to obey, however, 
and I have never been able to learn where he dis- 
obeyed an order from a superior put over him, in all 
his subsequent eventful life. 

With all his tasks, the lad still found a little time 
for swimming and fishing and for visiting his grand- 
parents, fifteen miles away. He loved to travel and 
to see new^ things. When quite young he drove his 
father's horses alone to Cincinnati, over forty miles 
from home, several times to Maysville, and once to 
Louisville, Kentucky. At eleven years of age he 
had driven over most of the country for forty miles 
around, and a little later as far as seventy miles away. 

The boys who read this must remember that in 
those days there were no macadam or other good 
roads, such as most of our boys are accustomed to. 



BOYHOOD AND EARLY TRAINING 9 



The roads over which he drove were mostly wide, 
rough pathways cut through virgin forests, dusty 
when the weather was dry, and muddy when it was 
wet. They were lonely journeys, with but little com- 
panionship. It took a stout-hearted boy to drive 
through these dark woods by night, or even by day, 
where houses were so far apart and the silence was 
unbroken save by the chippering squirrels by the road- 
side, the hoot of owls, the song of birds, or the mel- 
ancholy sighing of the wind in the treetops. All this 
must have left an imprint upon his impressionable, 
reticent nature. But I am not sure that in the devel- 
opment of courage, self-reliance, and powers of ob- 
servation, these experiences were not equivalent to the 
best kind of college education. 

At one time he carried a family seventy miles on 
their way to Toledo, and returned alone over the 
lonely roads. 

One of his many experiences was amusing, though 
characteristic of his courage and ingenuity in finding 
some way to do difficult things. He made an ex- 
cursion, accompanied by a Mr. Payne, to visit a per- 
son who lived at Flat Rock, a place seventy miles 
from home. The man where he visited had a saddle- 
horse which Ulysses coveted so much that he offered 
one of his carriage horses in trade for it. He knew 
that the horse had never had a harness on him, but, 
finding him docile, he believed he could manage him. 
So he hitched him to the carriage with his other horse 
and drove on with his passenger. 

The new horse went along quite well, until a sav- 



lO 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



age dog ran out, barking and snapping at his horses* 
heels. The saddle-horse, unbroken to harness, ran, 
kicking and rearing, as frightened horses will. 
Ulysses finally brought his horses to a standstill on 
the very verge of an embankment twenty feet high. 
The horse was frightened and trembling, but not so 
frightened as his passenger, who refused to go any 
further, and took passage by some other means. 

Ulysses, nothing daunted, calmed his fractious 
horses and started for home alone, forty miles away. 
But the saddle-horse couldn't get over his fright; he 
ran, danced, and kicked so hard, that for a while he 
threatened the safety of both the driver and the car- 
riage. The boy finally blindfolded the frightened 
horse with his handkerchief and, after a lively time 
and a day's journey, reached Maysville, to the sur- 
prise of Mr. Payne, who had preceded him by an- 
other conveyance to this point. Here he borrowed 
a horse from his uncle and reached home in safety. 

When Ulysses was fourteen years of age his father, 
with the determination that his son should receive the 
best education that he could afford him, sent him for 
one term to the academy at Maysville. It was kept 
by a college -bred man, and here he studied, took part 
in the work of the debating society, saw something 
of social life and of manners more refined than those 
of his home village. It is recorded, however, that he 
would rather pay a fine than " speak a piece." He 
never liked to do anything for self-display. 

When nearly seventeen young Grant received his 
appointment to the Military Academy at West Point. 



BOYHOOD AND EARLY TRAINING ii 



A neighbor's boy, living near the Grants and 
friendly with them, had received an appointment the 
year before, but had failed in his examinations, and 
resigned. Showy and with surface talents, he was 
considered by the townspeople a brilliant boy and of 
great promise. 

Jesse Grant, in his grim, determined soul, had made 
up his mind that his son should have an appointment 
to the Military Academy — and go there. Young 
Bailey's failure and resignation w^ere not known to 
him, so he wrote to one of the Senators of his State 
inquiring about an appointment for his boy, and was 
informed by the Senator that there was a vacancy in 
his own district, which his own Representative could, 
if he chose, give to Ulysses. 

Jesse Grant was a Whig and the Representative was 
a Democrat, and, though they had formerly been 
good friends, they had quarreled over politics, so 
that they did not speak when they met. Grant, how- 
ever, wrote at once to Mr. Harmer, the Representa- 
tive, saying. "If you have no other person in view 
and feel willing to consent to the appointment of 
Ulysses, you will please signify that consent to the 
Department." 

Mr. Harmer knew the boy, and liked him so well 
that he did not allow the quarrel with his father to 
stand in the way of Ulysses, and gave him the ap- 
pointment. This generous act of Mr. Harmer not 
only healed the breach between the former friends, 
but gave to the nation a future general and Presi- 
dent. 



12 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Now the boy had never shown any preference for 
the life of a soldier, and when his father told him 
about his appointment to West Point, Ulysses thought 
that he didn't care to be a soldier; that he had rather 
be a trader. The father grimly persisted that he 
should go to the Military Academy, until his son 
changed his mind. But it is evident that at this time 
he did not care for a military life. 

When the people of Georgetown learned that 
Ulysses had got his appointment, many thought that 
Mr. Harmer might have made a better selection. One 
man of the village, meeting Mr. Grant on the street, 
said, " I understand that Ulysses has got the appoint- 
ment to West Point," adding, " Why didn't our Rep- 
resentative select some one who would be a credit to 
this district?" It is very curious to observe that in 
the little village where this great man had been raised 
the folk thought him dull. The ideal of these peo- 
ple was a person with surface talent ; a boy that could 
talk, declaim; had the " gift of gab," and other showy 
qualities. This boy with uncommon ability to do 
things; who, at an early age, could load a team with 
big logs without other help than his horses; who had 
great independence of character; who never failed to 
do anything that he undertook, from riding a trick 
pony to getting hard lessons; this hoy the people 
thought of as dull! 

It is possible, however, that Jesse Grant by his dog- 
matic manners, and political antagonism, had made 
enemies for his son as well as for himself. The men- 
tal atmosphere of this little hamlet was Southern, 



BOYHOOD AND EARLY TRAINING 13 



while the Grants were Northern in sentiment and sym- 
pathy. His pride in his boy and his talk about my 
Ulysses " had brought upon him ridicule, if not dis- 
like, from which his son may have suffered. 

When it was decided to send Ulysses to West Point, 
the better to prepare him for its examinations he was 
sent to an academy at Ripley, Ohio, superintended by 
the Rev. William Taylor. It is said by those who 
knew him there, that though not considered brilliant, 
he was a good student, and particularly good in 
mathematics. He never took any part while here in 
mischievous pranks, was never punished or repri- 
manded. 

In person at this time Grant was a little over five 
feet tall, stocky, with a large head, small hands and 
feet, a round face, straight nose and firm chin, calm 
blue eyes, and a very earnest expression. 

Ripley was Northern in its sympathy and atmos- 
phere ; it was here that Mrs. Stowe laid that dramatic 
scene of " Uncle Tom's Cabin " when Eliza escaped 
from slavery. This atmosphere may have biased the 
people who knew young Grant while at school there 
in his favor. 

One thing that reconciled Ulysses to going to West 
Point was that he would thereby see new places. 
When he started he had about a hundred dollars, 
which he had mostly earned by carrying passengers 
and by teaming. He went to Pittsburg by steamer, 
and from thence to Harrisburg by canal boat, as that 
method of travel was slow and gave him an oppor- 
tunity to see the country. The first steam cars that 



14 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



he had ever seen, or traveled on, were from Harris- 
burg to Philadelphia, and we can imagine his interest 
in them. 

He stopped in Philadelphia five days, passing 
through all its streets, and visiting Girard College, 
then unfinished. In New York he stopped long 
enough to see the sights, and then took steamer to 
West Point, where he arrived on the last of May, 
having been fifteen days in making the journey. 



CHAPTER II 



YOUNG GRANT AT WEST POINT 

Ulysses was about seventeen years of age when, 
on the 1st of July, 1839, he was enrolled as a cadet 
at the National Military Academy. He had feared 
that he might not be able to pass the examination. 
It was, therefore, a gratification to him when he 
easily passed this searching ordeal that has blasted the 
hopes of so many dull boys. 

I have hitherto neglected to inform my readers 
that young Grant's name was originally Hiram 
Ulysses instead of Ulysses S. The change happened 
in this way: When Mr. Harmer sent his name to 
the War Department he had always known him as 
Ulysses, and, thinking by inference that his middle 
name was Simpson, his mother's name, he gave the 
name as Ulysses S. 

After signing his own name on the adjutant's rec- 
ord, Grant was informed that the name had been sent 
in as given above. Upon requesting to have the 
change made, he was told that it could not be changed 
without the consent of the Secretary of War. 

" Well," he is represented to have said, I came 
here to enter the Military Academy, and enter it I 
will ; one letter more or less does not matter." Hence 
it was that three months later he signed that name to 

15 



i6 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



his enlistment certificate, it became his army name, 
and he has been known by that name ever since. 

After signing the adjutant's roll he was sent to the 
barracks to report to the cadet officers, and soon after 
went into the encampment that precedes academic 
studies. He was given a broom, a pail and chair and 
two blankets, which he carried to his quarters amidst 
the usual hoots, jeers, and witticisms that are bestowed 
on a " plebe." He w^as saluted with all sorts of ques- 
tions, from : Does your mother know you are 
out? " to " Who made your breeches? " and " Where 
did you get that hat? " 

He was thenceforward obliged to sweep the floor 
of his quarters, was taught to arrange his outfit, and 
had to sleep on the bare floor without a mattress and 
with only the two blankets, one for his covering and 
the other under him. 

The duties of a cadet are much like those of a raw 
recruit in the regular army. He was instructed, dur- 
ing his drill, in the " first position of a soldier : — 
Heels equally on the same line, knees straight without 
stiffness, palms of the hands outward, the little finger 
in rear of the seams of the trousers, eyes straight to 
the front, chest thrown forward, and the body resting 
on the soles of the feet." 

All this he was obliged to do with tiresome repeti- 
tion until he had learned the " first position " and 
was sick and tired of it. 

Then he was possibly made to stand on one foot, 
swinging the other and depressing his toe as the foot 
swung forward. Then he was taught his facings; 



YOUNG GRANT AT WEST POINT 17 



" right face," " left face," " right about face." Then 
there is squad drill, company drill, guard mount, all 
of which has to be performed with painful exactness. 

This does not look very formidable on paper, per- 
haps, but if any of my boy readers will take an hour's 
drill with a regular drill master, he will find to the 
contrary. Every position of body and hand has to 
be mathematically exact, for a soldier is but one of 
the parts of a huge marching machine controlled by 
a single will. The cadet has the tactics drilled into 
him by wearisome repetitions until the evolutions are 
almost automatically performed. And he is expected 
to go through these exercises with snap " and keep 
time in so doing as if it were music instead of tedious 
drudgery. 

When he gets through with two hours of this drill, 
every muscle is sore and, unless he is a very humble 
person, and such are not fitted to be soldiers, he is 
mad all through and questions to himself, Why did 
I come for a soldier?" 

In this preliminary drill of three months that pre- 
cedes the January examinations there is no glitter of 
military uniforms; the " plebes," as they are called, 
wear their citizen's clothes, which naturally as a whole 
are of a great variety of styles and colors. To 
make this drill still more exasperating, their superior 
officers — who are cadets of the upper classes — 
give their orders in a sarcastic tone, with a plentiful 
sprinkling of side remarks, such as, " I'll have to put 
you in the awkward squad, you clown," or, " Dress 
up there! " or, " Draw your belly in," or, " If you do 



i8 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



that again I'll skin you alive." These men of the 
third class had been through with the same tortures 
themselves, and were repaying themselves for the 
humiliations they then endured by practicing them on 
the " plebes." 

All sorts of tricks are played off on the " plebe." 
Perhaps he is soused with a pail of water while 
asleep, or trying to sleep, under his small outfit of 
blankets; and the plebe " must not resent it unless he 
is looking for more trouble. 

It is said that Ulysses, on account of his small size 
and great good nature, escaped with but little hazing. 

Time had, however, dragged along very slowly and 
tediously for him; he was disgusted and heavy- 
hearted, and no doubt would have sold out his share 
in West Point for much less than it had already cost 
him. He afterwards said that when this encamp- 
ment broke up, he felt that he had been at West Point 
forever. There was but little doubt that he was 
homesick, as well as chagrined — though he did not 
confess it in his letters to his friends. 

The January examinations came and he passed 
them with credit ; standing very high in mathematics, 
and almost at the foot of the class in French. Mathe- 
matics came very easy to him, and, as one of his com- 
rades among the cadets afterv»'ards said, he had a 
way of solving difficult problems by hard sense rather 
than by rule. 

This, we think, showed penetration unusual in one 
of his age. It also foreshadowed a characteristic 
which he developed in his military career, that of 



YOUNG GRANT AT WEST POINT 19 



solving difficult military situations by application of 
good common sense. 

The quarter that followed was tedious to a boy ac- 
customed to much liberty of action. The routine life 
was governed by strictest rules, and from " reveille," 
when he got out of bed in the morning, to " taps," 
when lights are out at night, every hour was filled 
by some duty to which he was called by the tap of 
the drum or the querulous shrieking of a fife. There 
are "feed calls," "drill calls," "sick calls," "roll 
calls," dinner, supper, and breakfast calls, " guard 
mounts," and so on through a routine of daily duty. 

During his first year a bill was discussed in Con- 
gress which proposed to abolish the iMilitary Acad- 
emy. Grant's sentiment, during that time, is shown 
by the fact that he read the debate with great interest, 
hoping it would pass, as he afterwards said, so that 
he might honorably leave the Academy. 

In September he signed his " Certificate of Enlist- 
ment," in which he pledged his " word of honor as 
a gentleman that I will faithfully observe the rules and 
articles of war, the Regulations of the Military Acad- 
emy, and in like manner obey the orders of the Presi- 
dent and the orders of the officers over me." On this 
he wrote, for the first time, his signature as U. S. 
Grant, and by that name he has since been known. 

As there were two Grants in the class, the cadets 
nicknamed him first " Uncle Sam," afterward ab- 
breviated to Sam, a name by which he was known 
by his classmates while there. 

If my boy friends think his studies easy let them 



20 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



scan this list of which the course of instruction con- 
sisted : Algebra, plane, spherical, descriptive, and 
analytical geometry, differential and integral calculus, 
natural and experimental philosophy, mechanics, 
chemistry, mineralog}^ geology, French language and 
literature, rhetoric, logic, constitutional, international, 
and military law, ordnance and gunnery, architecture, 
industrial and topographical drawing, civil and mili- 
tary engineering, besides, as I have already instanced, 
the hard and practical drill of artillery, cavalry, and 
engineering tactics. 

Grant has recorded in his Memoirs that he seldom 
read his lessons over more than once. This shows 
that if he had cared to do so he could have easily taken 
higher rank in his studies. 

There was a fine library of books at the Academy 
and, unaccustomed to such wealth of literature, these 
attracted him. From the first he spent the leisure he 
gained by his quickness in learning his lessons, in 
reading, not only substantial books, but the novels of 
Sir Walter Scott, Bulwer, Washington Irving, Cooper, 
and many others. 

The second year was much pleasanter than the 
first. The cadet of the second year can, if he 
chooses, in turn order and lord it over the " plebes." 
It is not believed, however, that he did this, as he 
never cared to inflict pain for the sake of fun. 

After, two years at the Academy, he was granted 
the customary furlough and went home to his proud 
father and loving mother. The mother noted that 
he had grown taller and straighter. Yes," said 



YOUXG GRANT AT WEST POINT 21 



Ulysses, they teach us to stand straight at the Acad- 
emy." 

At this time the Grants were Hving at Bethel, where 
Jesse Grant had established a large tannery. It was 
nearer Cincinnati than Georgetown, though not a 
great way from the latter place. The doting father 
had bought a new horse for his new-fledged soldier. 

Gold lace goes a great way with young ladies, and 
the young cadet, with his splendid carriage and sol- 
dierly bearing, wearing his undress uniform of blue 
jacket with gilt buttons and white duck trousers, evi- 
dently made a sensation among the girls and found 
favor in their eyes. It is recorded that he took them 
to ride and visited them. 

On his new horse he often rode over to George- 
town to visit his acquaintances, and among others a 
Miss King, who is supposed to have been his first 
sweetheart. Here the people noticed his improved 
manner and soldierly bearing and began to make fa- 
vorable comments about young Grant. They began 
to think that, after all, the young fellow was a " right 
smart " young man. 

The days passed quickly away, as days of youth 
do when full of pleasure. He was undoubtedly a 
sorry boy when his three months' furlough was over 
and he returned to the prison-like barracks and strin- 
gent exactions of the Military Academy once more. 
He said in after years that he never enjoyed anything 
in his life so much as he did this short vacation. 

The corps of cadets at the Academy was divided 
into four companies for their military exercises. 



22 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



These were officered by the cadets, who were se- 
lected for their mihtary quahfications. Upon his re- 
turn Grant found that he had been promoted to be 
sergeant. 

Why it was I do not know, but during the year 
that followed, though his standing in his class was 
twenty in general merit, and but a trifle below the 
average in artillery and infantry practice, he was re- 
duced to the ranks as a private and served as such 
until he graduated. He intimates in his Memoirs 
that as he had not been called out " as a corporal 
previously, this sudden jump to promotion as a 
sergeant turned his head. He stood, however, tenth 
in mathematics in a class of fifty, his general average 
was good, and in " conduct " stood high. 

Demerit marks wxre easily obtained by cadets. 
Five were given for not attending church ; marks were 
given for failure to salute officers, for carelessness in 
dress, for being late to the calls, and for so many 
trivial causes that it would seem as though none but 
an angel could graduate. Two hundred demerit 
marks against a cadet, during a year, call for his dis- 
missal. 

Grant was now accustomed to Academy life; it 
was healthful, and in his third year he began to enjoy 
more of its privileges. There are also indications 
that he began to feel the stirrings of ambition. Gen- 
eral Scott had visited the Academy and he was much 
impressed by the record and martial bearing of this 
grand old soldier, and afterwards said in his Memoirs 



YOUNG GRANT AT WEST POINT 23 



that he had a premonition that some day he would 
stand in his place. 

Though not liking the artillery or infantry drill, 
the cavalry exercises, which had now become a part 
of practice, were more to his taste. The rattle of the 
saber and the evolution of the horses appealed to him. 
He especially delighted in his riding exercises, and 
at the riding school was a favorite with the master. 
It is told that at one time, when there were a number 
of spectators present, the riding master — old Hersch- 
berger — called out in guttural tones — " Cadet 
Grant ! " At this call a slender youth, mounted on 
a powerful horse, came riding like a thunderbolt down 
the hall, holding his seat as though rider and horse 
were one, and cleared the bar. It is on record at the 
Academy that at one time he leaped his horse over 
a bar five feet six and a half inches high; a record 
which, it has been said, has never been surpassed at 
the Academy. 

At last his four years at the ^lilitary Academy 
were over and he graduated. He was now twenty-one 
years of age, had grown six inches since he entered, 
and w^as straight and slim, but with muscles like iron 
and nerves like steel; he was inclined, however, to 
pulmonary disease, from which his younger brother 
afterwards died. His habits were good ; he was never 
known to use a profane or vulgar word. While not 
a prig, he had a scrupulous regard for truth, and al- 
ways kept his word. A member of his class said of 
him : " He is a splendid fellow — a good, honest 



24 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



man, against whom nothing can be said and from 
whom everything can he expected." 

He was ready for any kind of fun that did not in- 
flict pain on some one nor require him to tell a lie. 
He had a keen sense of humor. 

At one time he was almost caught by a tactical offi- 
cer while cooking in his room. Ulysses hid his 
chicken and pan just as the officer appeared at his 
door, and standing at attention saluted with impassive 
face. 

" There is a funny smell in your room," said the 
officer. 

" I have noticed it myself, sir,'* replied Grant. 

" Don't," said the officer, " set the room afire." 

" Thank you," said Cadet Grant, and the officer 
retired, carefully avoiding seeing the cause of the 
odor. 

It has been said by his detractors that Grant was 
slow and dull. The fact that there were originally a 
hundred men in his class and that only thirty-nine of 
these graduated ; that among these were such men as 
Sherman, Thomas, Meade, Reynolds, and other men 
afterward known to fame; and that at graduation he 
stood twenty-first in his class, seems to indicate that 
though unassuming and not brilliant or showy, he had 
substantial qualities. 

It is not always the brilliant student in college or 
school who takes the prizes in after life. 



CHAPTER III 



A LIEUTENANT IN THE MEXICAN WAR 

It was July ist, 1843, when young Grant was ap- 
pointed to the Fourth Infantry. He received a three 
months' furlough and spent the time in visiting his 
home at Bethel, Ohio. 

During this visit a country muster was held, one 
of those wonderful occurrences, all fuss and feathers 
and noise, at which the people from miles around 
congregated to take part and to take in the sights. 
Here young Grant was invited to drill the militia, and 
acquitted himself with such credit as to find still 
greater favor with his elders, or such of them as 
were not prejudiced against the Grants. His clear, 
high-pitched voice rang across the parade ground 
and was plamly heard, in marked contrast to those 
of the militia officers. 

The possibility of a war with Mexico over the an- 
nexation of Texas was the all-pervading topic of con- 
versation and discussion at that time, and the militia 
was excited over the possibility of winning honors on 
the battle-field. 

After his three months* leave of absence was over. 
Grant reported for duty at Jefferson Barracks, near 
St. Louis, which was then the most important mili- 
tary station in the West. The routine of duties here 

25 



26 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



was quite light to one accustomed co Military Acad- 
emy exactions, and he found time to visit at the home 
of his classmate, F. D. Dent, whose father lived only 
five miles from the barracks. He there became ac- 
quainted with Miss Julia Dent, then a miss of seven- 
teen, to whom, shortly afterwards, he became en- 
gaged to be married. His ambition at that time was 
to settle down as a professor in some college, and he 
was encouraged by his professor at West Point to be- 
lieve that he might get an appointment as assistant 
professor of mathematics under him. 

With this in view, he applied himself to study for 
the position which Professor Church had encouraged 
him to expect. 

This life of mihtary routine, study, and social 
pleasure was interrupted by a call to more active du- 
ties in anticipation of the war with Mexico. In an- 
ticipation of this war he w^as ordered, with his regi- 
ment, to Camp Salubrity, Natchitoches, Louisiana, 
there to await the action of Congress over the an- 
nexation of Texas, then being discussed. The offi- 
cers of his regiment were generally indifferent as to 
whether or not this annexation was consummated, but 
Grant was bitterly opposed to what he believed not 
only an unjust attempt to acquire territory which of 
right belonged to the Mexican republic, but a delib- 
erate plan to extend slave territory. 

Early in September he accompanied his regiment, 
which had been ordered to Corpus Christi, and on the 
30th received promotion to the full rank of second 
lieutenant. 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 



27 



The Army of Observation, as it was called, then 
assembling under General Zack Taylor, consisted of 
about three thousand men and was, ostensibly, for the 
purpose of preventing filibustering in Mexican terri- 
tory; but in reality it was intended to bring on a war 
by provoking a fight with Mexico. But the presence 
of this force on the borders of the disputed territory 
was not sufficient to produce the desired hostilities — 
it being the plan that Mexico should begin them. So 
this little army began preparations for its advance to 
Matamoras, a place about one hundred and fifty miles 
from Corpus Christi. Fresh water was scarce over 
this route and there was not a single house or a culti- 
vated field in the country to be traversed. Hence it 
was necessary to have large wagon trains to trans- 
port garrison equipage and rations for the army. The 
army was poorly supplied with horses or mules; but 
wild mules, unbroken to harness, were to be had of 
Mexican traders for a small price. Before making 
the contemplated march, the little lieutenant went 
with the paymaster's outfit to San Antonio. Game 
was abundant, but this interested him less than the 
large herds of wild horses that roamed over these 
plains. 

During this trip, while young Grant was alive to 
the beauties of the wilds, he also was drawing lessons 
from the incidents of the journey. One afternoon 
while he was out with a comrade he heard a pack of 
wolves howling and yelping. He was somewhat 
alarmed, for there seemed to him, judging from the 
noise they were making, enough wolves to eat horses, 



28 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



harnesses, and himself and comrade. His friend, 
more accustomed to wolves than he, kept right on. 
Young Grant, determined not to show his fears, fol- 
lowed closely after him. 

" Say, Grant," said his friend, " how many wolves 
would you think there are in that pack? " 

" Well," said the little lieutenant, desiring to set 
the number low so as not to show his alarm, about 
twenty." 

" Let us see," said his comrade. They came to a 
little elevation, and saw, in a cleared spot below them, 
the pack. There were only two! They had their 
noses together doing all that terrific howling. 

He learned then that noise does not always indicate 
strength in numbers, and when, in after life, he heard 
politicians noisily claiming a big following, he remem- 
bered those wolves. 

When at last preparations were completed, the 
march began. The teams consisted of wild mules 
bought of Mexican smugglers. Mules that are broken 
to harness are at best refractory to a surprising de- 
gree, but these wild creatures, which had never be- 
fore seen a harness, much less had one adjusted to 
them, were naturally more so. Five of them in a 
team made it lively for the drivers. Sometimes the 
mules of a team would all be in the air together, as 
if trying to fly ; or perhaps one would be seated, or 
lying down, others prancing or bucking, and the rest 
uttering melancholy laments. The teamsters had a 
slipnoose around the neck of each mule, to shut off 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 29 



bad music by drawing it tight, or to correct and dis- 
courage their refractory manners. 

On the march all officers having horses were per- 
mitted to ride them, though, strictly speaking, an offi- 
cer of infantry is supposed to go afoot with his com- 
pany. 

Young Grant had bought a three-year-old wild 
mustang, lately caught with a lasso from a herd. 
Though feeling that he should march with his regi- 
ment, he could not resist a horse. It was some time 
before the youthful rider could agree with his horse 
as to which part of the column they were to march 
with, or which road they were to take; but, with his 
usual skill in breaking horses, he soon had him as 
tractable as any in the army. 

It was with these wild horses and mules that the 
army at last reached the Rio Grande. Here the 
mules had, for a time, little to do but practice their 
music and get their living while picketed on the 
prairie. 

It was about the middle of March when the army 
reached the Rio Grande and went into camp opposite 
the city of Matamoras. This little army of three 
thousand men, with its base of supplies fifty miles 
away, was surrounded by hostile people. Two offi- 
cers, who had ventured away from their companies, 
were killed by Mexican marauders, also two whole 
companies were captured, though war had not yet 
been declared. 

The supplies brought by team were running short. 



go 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



so, after building a fort opposite the town, which 
was provisioned with the rations that remained, the 
rest of the army, under General Taylor, with all the 
wagons, marched to Fort Isabel, twenty-five miles 
away, to obtain supplies. Two days' journey brought 
them to the mouth of the Rio Grande, where pro- 
visions were awaiting them. 

While lying in his tent on the shore, our little lieu- 
tenant heard the sound of artillery announcing that 
the Mexicans were attacking the garrison opposite 
Matamoras. The war had actually begun. 

On the 3d of May, as the army on its returning 
march approached Palo Alto, they saw the enemy, 
greatly outnumbering the Americans, and consisting 
mostly of cavalry armed with lances, drawn up in 
line in front of some timber. About 3 o'clock p. m. 
the engagement opened with artillery from both sides, 
and continued until after sundown. The Americans 
encamped on their own ground, expecting to resume 
the engagement there in the morning. But the enemy 
had retreated during the night to a stronger posi- 
tion. 

They were found, fortified with logs and brush, 
on the opposite side of a long, narrow pond. The 
captain, having been sent to some other duty, gave 
Grant the command of his company when the order 
for the advance of the whole army was given. Bul- 
lets were humming and whistling around him as he 
led his company through the thickets, and no doubt 
the little officer wished himself at home with his 
mother. He rushed forward, directing his company 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 



31 



where the woods were so dense that an enemy could 
be within five feet of them and they not know it. 
The Americans drove the enemy from their artillery, 
shooting their gunners and shouting as they advanced. 
Grant led his men through these entangled woods 
until, seeing that he was too near the enemy for safety, 
he commanded his company to lie down; this, as the 
bullets came very thick, they were quite willing to do. 

At last, extricating his men from this position and 
finding a cleared spot leading between two ponds, he 
ordered his company to charge. He captured a colo- 
nel and a number of men and was just sending them 
to the rear, feeling very proud of his achievement, 
when he discovered that the ground had been charged 
over before and that there was some of the American 
army ahead of him. 

After two hours of hot fighting, the enemy, panic- 
stricken, broke and ran, leaving eight pieces of artil- 
lery, two thousand stands of arms, numerous pistols, 
lances, swords, a quantity of provisions, and five hun- 
dred mules in the hands of the victors. About two 
hundred men were killed and wounded in this two 
days' action. It was the little Lieutenant's first bat- 
tle, and also his first command of a company. 

After this the army advanced up the river to its 
old position, where they had built the fort. The 
siege of this little fort had, during the army's absence, 
been continued for several days without great loss 
to the garrison. In these battles the Americans had 
fought with flintlock muskets and their artillery had 
been drawn by oxen. 



32 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Now that the war had really begun, volunteers be- 
gan to arrive. One of the officers of these volunteers 
was Mr. Harmer, the Representative to Congress who 
got Ulysses his appointment to West Point. He was 
taken ill at Monterey, and died soon after; in his 
death young Grant lost a good friend. 

Soon after the battle General Taylor transferred 
his army to the west side of the Rio Grande. It had 
now become the army of invasion. 

In August, sufficient reenforcements having ar- 
rived, Taylor began his forward movement to 
Cumargo, the head of navigation on the Rio Grande. 
This route enters a pass through which runs a road 
to the city of Mexico. 

On August 19th the army advanced to Monterey; 
the infantry was conveyed by steamers, while the 
artillery and cavalry marched down the south or Mexi- 
can side of the Rio Grande. It was very hot and the 
marches were made mostly by night. 

On arriving at Camargo, our little lieutenant was 
made quartermaster and commissary of the regiment. 
He thereafter held that responsible position and dis- 
charged all its duties with promptness and energy 
until the army was withdrawn from Mexico. 

The teams, that had hitherto proved sufficient for 
transportation of supplies, now had to be reenforced 
by pack mules. The young quartermaster found his 
duties with these animals to be very lively. A 
quartermaster, among other duties, has charge of 
trains; and camp equipage, such as sheet-iron kettles 
and mess chests and tent-poles, made grotesque and 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 33 



clumsy bundles for contrary mules. When a mule 
thought he had carried these burdens long enough, 
he would throw up his hind legs until he almost stood 
on his head, or prance and buck, until he had scat- 
tered his load. It speaks volumes for young Grant's 
patience and forbearance that he got his trains over 
the difficult roads, for it took pluck and an equable 
temper. 

On the 19th of September the army went into 
camp about three miles from Monterey, then the prin- 
cipal town in northern Mexico, having a population 
of about twenty thousand people. 

The Mexicans had made ample preparations for the 
reception of the invaders. Between the American 
army and the city was a plain on which stood a fort 
of stone, called the Black Fort," whose guns com- 
manded the approach to the city at the north and 
northwest. The city was also strongly fortified. 
The town is on a stream, and back of that stood the 
foot-hills. The hills at the north of the city, on one 
of which stood the Bishop's Palace, were fortified to 
sweep the Saltillo road with cannon. Within the city 
all streets leading to the plaza were swept by cannon 
from behind strong intrenchments. On the flat- 
roofed houses were stationed men with muskets. 
Such was the formidable position, held by ten thou- 
sand troops commanded by General Ampudia, which 
the audacious little American army of six thousand 
was about to attack. 

The little lieutenant, as regimental quartermaster, 
was entitled to remain out of the fight; his position, 



34 



A LIFE OF GRANT, 



if he chose, was with the mules and camp equipage. 
But he was made of different stuff from the average 
quartermaster, and had been taught at home that 
the post of danger is the post of duty." He was 
with the eastern division of the army. 

General Worth was ordered to dislodge the enemy 
on the north and east. When the fight began, young 
Grant mounted his mustang and rode to the front. 
The order to charge was just being given as he ar- 
rived and on horseback he charged with his regiment. 
The pop, pop, pop of musketry from the tops of the 
houses and the shriek of cannon balls saluted the 
charging column. On the passage was a deep ravine 
across which were bridges, on one of which stood a 
figure of the Virgin; here the Mexicans, who were 
devout Catholics, defended the statue with splendid 
valor until it was destroyed. After reaching to within 
a single street from the plaza, near its last barricade, 
it was found that the ammunition was exhausted. 
They could not advance, and they scorned to retreat. 

"We must have reenforcements or ammunition," 
said Colonel Garland, w^ho commanded the brigade. 
" It is a duty I don't care to order any one on, as it 
is a chance that he ever gets back alive. Who will 
go to General Twigg with my message ? " 

I can imagine the old regulars growling under their 
breath, " We are not volunteers ; we are regulars, and 
go where we're ordered ! " The little lieutenant, sa- 
luting his colonel, said, ''I will go; I have a horse." 

" You are just the man," said the colonel, " but 
ride fast, or they'll get you," 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 



35 



The cross streets were swept by musketry. Grant 
mounted, swung himself over the side of his horse 
farthest from the enemy, with one arm around the 
mustang's neck and his heel holding to the cantle of 
his saddle, like a Comanche Indian, and started his 
horse at a dead run. He reached General Twigg 
safely, although the cross streets on his passage were 
swept by musketry from the tops of the houses and by 
artillery. Before, however, the necessary ammuni- 
tion could be collected the regiments came pouring 
back. They had found it too hot to hold their ad- 
vanced position. 

The daring feat of the little lieutenant was much 
talked of among the men, though his name was not 
mentioned in the reports. 

General Worth, with his small division on the 
north of the city, had resorted to an ingenious expedi- 
ent. Instead of exposing his men to the fire from the 
tops of the houses, he cut through the adobe walls of 
the houses and so passed from house to house the 
whole length of the street until he reached, with his 
command, within a short distance of the plaza. The 
Mexicans, seeing that the citadel was doomed, sur- 
rendered before another morning. 

It was a sad sight to young Grant to see the Mexi- 
cans, humiliated and beaten, marching out from the 
city. Their cavalry was mounted on little half- 
starved horses, and he naturally had sympathy for a 
defeated foe. 

After the surrender property and person were pro- 
tected and a market given to products of the country. 



3,6 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



The American soldiers made friends with the citizens 
that remained in the city, and the relations between 
them were very pleasant. 

There was now a pause in military operations for 
six months. It was a war for the extension of slave 
territory and President Polk and his cabinet were in 
a dilemma. General Zack Taylor by his victories, 
which were heralded in the newspapers at home, had 
become a popular hero. He was a Whig, the Ad- 
ministration was Democratic. If he was allowed to 
win more victories upon those already gained, it was 
likely to make him President of the United States. 
General Scott, also a Whig, was head of the army 
and a soldier already crowned with the laurels of 
Lundy's Lane and Chippeway. He had submitted to 
the Administration a plan for the conquest of Mex- 
ico which they had rejected. He, too, might become 
better presidential timber than any candidate the 
Democratic party could produce. If, on the other 
hand, they abandoned the war they would not only 
lose prestige, but tlie coveted territory for the spread 
of the peculiar institution," as slavery was called. 
They finally decided to divide the glory between Scott 
and Taylor by adopting Scott's plan of a campaign 
and putting him into the field. 

Taylor and Scott were both able military command- 
ers, but entirely unlike in manner. Taylor seldom 
wore a uniform, and when in battle saw to the posi- 
tion of his troops himself, by riding up and down his 
battle lines. Scott, on the other hand, got his infor- 
mation of the progress of a fight through his staff 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 37 



officers. He wore his uniform on all occasions, with 
as much gold lace and gilt buttons as military law 
would allow. He was very able, though pompous in 
person and language. He was popularly known as 
" Fuss and Feathers," while General Taylor was 
called " Old Rough and Ready." 

With Vera Cruz for a landing place, the city of 
Mexico was to be attacked; and Scott, with this in 
view, called for all regular troops from General 
Taylor, leaving him only the volunteers. 



CHAPTER IV 



COMMISSIONED A CAPTAIN 

When General Scott assumed command, the regi- 
ment to which our httle Heutenant belonged was 
transferred to General Worth's division and ordered 
to join General Scott's forces, now assembling at the 
mouth of the Rio Grande to embark for Vera Cruz. 

The passage was by sailing craft, steamers not be- 
ing much in use in those days, and was tedious and 
long. Many of the troops were on shipboard over 
thirty days. No wonder young Grant, after the 
passage, wrote to his father that he was heartily sick 
of the war. 

Finally this army of less than twelve thousand 
men that was about to invade a nation of eight mil- 
lions, reached their destination. They began their 
perilous landing, some three miles south from Vera 
Cruz, the Mexicans occasionally firing shot at the 
surf-boats that were making the landing. 

Vera Cruz was a walled city extending to the water 
in front and in rear, and with formidable fortifica- 
tions all along the line. The American army ad- 
vanced their guns under cover of night and intrenched 
them. The siege, which was begun on the 7th of 
March, continued until the 27th, when, a breach hav- 
ing been made by our guns in the walls, General 

38 



COMMISSIONED A CAPTAIN 



Morales, the Governor of Vera Cruz, began nego- 
tiations and surrendered the city on the 29th of 
March. 

More fearful of the yellow fever than of the en- 
emy, Scott hastened to get his little army from the 
vicinity of the conquered city. It was needful that 
the army should carry with them enough supplies to 
last until Jalapa, sixty miles away in the interior, 
above the fever district, was reached. 

On the eighth of April, with Worth's division 
bringing up the rear, the little army began its march 
into the interior. It was soon confronted by the 
enemy behind fortifications at Cerro Gordo. General 
Scott began preparations for the capture of this po- 
sition, held by Santa Anna, with fifteen thousand 
men. Cerro Gordo, which is twelve miles from 
Jalapa, is situated on the spur of a mountain, sugar- 
loafed in shape and very difficult of access. Santa 
Anna had made a march of over a thousand miles, 
after a battle with General Taylor at Buena Vista, 
to reach this place before the American army. His 
troops, though ragged and worn, were under good 
discipline, and he thought it impossible for the Amer- 
icans to capture it. 

Nothing daunted, General Scott sent his engineers 
to see if it could be approached by some other than 
a front attack. (Two of these engineers were 
George B. McClellan and Robert E. Lee.) Under 
the direction of the engineers roads were built over 
chasms, where the walls were so steep that they had 
be^n deemed by the enemy inaccessible, These roads 



40 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



were made at night without the knowledge of the 
enemy. 

On the i8th the attack began. Over steep declivi- 
ties and upward, the cannon were drawn by hand, 
until the rear of Santa Anna's intrenchments were 
reached. Then with shouts and yells the Americans 
rushed upon the Mexicans, to whom the attack was 
like a clap of thunder from a cloudless sky. It was 
a complete surprise. The Mexican general after- 
wards said he did not think a goat could have reached 
them from that direction. The enemy beat a hasty 
retreat. 

Our little lieutenant, in a letter written soon after, 
said, As soon as the Mexicans saw this height taken 
they knew that the day was up for them. Santa 
Anna vamoosed with a small part of his force, leav- 
ing about six thousand to be taken prisoners with all 
their arms and supplies. Santa Anna's loss could not 
have been less than eight thousand, killed, wounded, 
taken prisoners, and missing. The pursuit was so 
close upon the retreating foe that Santa Anna's car- 
riage and mules were taken and with them some 
twenty or thirty thousand dollars in money." 

The prisoners were paroled, their arms destroyed, 
and the march resumed. The country was beautiful 
and supplies plentiful as they reached Jalapa, far 
above the fever district. 

Here, as the time of enlistment of four thousand 
of his volunteers was almost up, Scott discharged 
them. (He evidently did not value them much more 
than General Taylor did some Mexicans that he had 



COMMISSIONED A CAPTAIN 41 



captured ; he set them free, saying, " I'd rather fight 
you than feed you.") This left Scott only about 
five thousand men. 

On the 15th of May the army, with little resist- 
ance, entered Puebla, the most populous and beautiful 
city, with the exception of its capital, in Mexico. 
General Worth was in command, and he was nerv- 
ous and fussy; at one time he kept his men under 
arms three days, and rode around proclaiming that 
Santa Anna was about to attack them. When Gen- 
eral Scott arrived nothing more was heard of the 
enemy; and had Santa Anna attacked, it would not 
have ruffled the calm old soldier. 

While here, young Grant was sent out, as quarter- 
master, on a two days' march to gather forage. He 
was accompanied by an escort of only about a thou- 
sand men. He procured full loads for all his wagons 
and returned safely. 

Although very active in his military duties, young 
Grant found time to see things of interest. To him 
the march across the dusty plains had been full of 
instruction, and he drew military lessons therefrom. 
He also found time to write letters to his parents. 
In one of these he writes : " I have been delighted 
with the Mexican birds, . . . their plumage is 
superlatively splendid; . . . they beat ours in 
show, but to my mind do not equal them in harmony. 
. . . I have written this letter with my sword 
fastened to my side, my pistols within reach, not 
knowing but that the next moment I may be called 
into battle." 




42 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Reenforcements for the army had at last arrived 
and, on the 7th of August, the march toward the 
Mexican capital was resumed. The route followed 
took the army over the highest point of the Rio Frio 
Mountains, the mightiest range on the American 
continent. An army has been likened to a serpent 
that moves on its belly. This is another way of say- 
ing that it can move only so far as it can be fed. 
Scott took no food or forage for men and horses, 
but gathered his supplies from the country; to use 
a military term, he " cut loose from his base of sup- 
plies." 

Our little soldier noted Scott's confidence in sub- 
sisting his army in a hostile country, and it was a 
lesson which he profited by in his campaign against 
Vicksburg. He was receiving a supplementary mili- 
tary education for his greater career. 

It was August, the rainy season, when the little 
army arrived in sight of the Mexican capital and 
looked down upon the beautiful valley of Mexico, 
with its three crystal lakes at the western base of the 
mountains. It was a difficult task for this little 
army to capture this city surrounded by dikes and 
ditches and fortified by nature as well as by the 
Mexicans, with an army outside of the city three 
times as numerous as the Americans who were about 
to attack it. 

The three lakes mentioned were Chalco, Texoco, 
and Xochimilco. Between the first two there is a 
narrow strip of land over w^hich there is a road 
to the city. But the Americans could not safely 



COMMISSIONED A CAPTAIN 43 



march over this road, because on its right was a high 
rocky hill called El Penon, where the Mexicans had 
mounted cannon both on top and at its base. These 
cannon were to sweep with shot and shell an enemy 
marching over the road to the city. The engineers 
at last found a safer way by passing around the south 
side of Lake Chalco, and by the i8th of August the 
brigade to which young Grant belonged had reached 
a town called St. Augustin Tlalpan, within eleven 
miles of the city. Between this place and the capital 
is the village of Cherubusco, and southwest of this 
place is Contreras, on the side of a mountain. At 
the foot of this mountain is a huge mass of rock so 
heaped and confused by volcanic action that neither 
artillery nor cavalry could get over it. 

The brigade to which young Grant belonged was 
sent opposite the estate of San Antonio, three miles 
from St. Augustin Tlalpan, which is on land almost 
level with the lake and surrounded by wide ditches. 
The only way our soldiers could reach San Antonio 
was by a narrow road over level ground, every bit of 
which was swept by cannon and musketry. If, how- 
ever, they could capture the village of Contreras they 
could flank (go around) the other places held by the 
Mexicans between them and the city. 

The assault on Contreras was made on the 20th, and 
in less than a half hour the place, with many pris- 
oners and all kinds of stores, guns and ammunition, 
was captured. The next stronghold in the path of 
their progress towards the city was a church and con- 
vent in the village of Churubusco, with high walls and 



44 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



with breastworks built around it. But nothing could 
daunt the American army. They went over the 
breastworks and then scaled the walls of the con- 
vent. The Mexicans, demoralized and bewildered, 
fled before an enemy which nothing seemed able to 
resist. The army could then, it is thought, have gone 
into the city. But General Scott made a truce with 
the Mexicans and, through Mr. Trist for the United 
States, began negotiations for a treaty of peace. One 
of the conditions of this truce was, that during its 
continuance neither party should strengthen its po- 
sition. 

The terms of peace proposed by Mr. Trist were 
that the Mexicans were to give up Texas and cede 
New Mexico and California to the United States. 
This so outraged the Mexican leaders that they at 
once began preparations for defense without notice, 
thus breaking the truce. 

General Worth's division was now occupying 
Tacubaya, about four miles from the city of Mexico. 
A wooded piece of land slightly above the level ex- 
tends into the flat land and terminates in a precipitous 
hill or mound three hundred feet high. On the top 
of this mound was a fortified castle, and around and 
at its base were cannon behind intrenchments. To 
even an experienced soldier it would look, as it did 
to young Grant, impossible to capture. Back of its 
fortress, which was surrounded by an aqueduct whose 
arches had been built up with stone, was an old mill. 
The battle for this mill is known as the battle of 
Molino del Rey. 



COMMISSIONED A CAPTAIN 45 



By daylight the men of Worth's division were in 
line for attack. A charge was made, the place car- 
ried, and the Mexicans beat a hasty retreat. 

Our little lieutenant, who was in the thickest of 
the fight, was with the foremost of those to enter the 
mill. In the rush he stumbled over a wounded man 
whom he discovered to be his friend Dent. Stop- 
ping to see how badly his friend was hurt, he en- 
countered a Mexican. Grant shouted to a lieutenant 
who was between him and the door just in time to 
save Dent from being shot. 

His sharp eyes soon saw some Mexican soldiers on 
the top of the building, and using the shafts of a cart 
for a ladder, he got on top, only to find there a pri- 
vate American soldier guarding some of the officers 
and privates, " that he had surrounded." Grant 
disarmed the officers and men, taking their pistols and 
breaking their muskets. 

The loss in this battle was very heavy, but not so 
great as that of the enemy. Had this victory been 
followed up at once, our men no doubt could have 
gone into Chapultepec without further loss. It is 
always in order to follow a beaten and retreating 
foe, but as this was neglected, the Americans were 
obliged to make another fight. 

During the night of the nth batteries were estab- 
lished within firing distance of Chapultepec, and in 
the morning the guns opened fire upon the citadel. 
Two assaulting columns of two hundred and fifty 
men each charged and captured the position with 
heavy loss. This battle removed another ugly ob- 



46 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



struction to the American advance into the city of 
Mexico. 

When Chapultepec was in the possession of the 
Americans, they began an advance along the two 
aqueduct roads. Young Grant was on the road to 
San Cosme and was with those nearest the front. 
To keep out of the enemy's fire they sheltered them- 
selves under the archways of the aqueduct, skipping 
from one to another. Coming to a road that joined 
that on which they were, they found it defended by 
a piece of artillery at the angle of the two roads, and 
by Mexicans with muskets on the tops of near-by 
houses. Our little lieutenant, seeing a house occupy- 
ing an angle of the roads, watched his chance and 
got across to it. From behind a wall which ran along 
each of these roads, forming an enclosure near the 
house, he began to reconnoiter. He found that the 
road running east and west could from here be safely 
reached, and went back for help. About a dozen re- 
turned with him, keeping a close watch on the Mexi- 
cans behind their intrenchments, and shooting at any 
head that appeared. 

When they reached a safer position, at trail arms 
the men cautiously advanced with their leader. 

On the way he fell in with a company going north 
through a shallow ditch under command of Captain 
Horace Brooks and told him what he was trying 
to do. The captain said : " Go on, you know the 
way; I'll follow." So they advanced until the San 
Cosme road was reached on the flank of the Mexicans 
serving the gun at the angle of the roads, which as I 



COMMISSIONED A CAPTAIN 47 

have mentioned, had stopped the advance of the 
Americans. 

As soon as the Mexicans saw they were flanked, 
the men serving the gun retreated, followed by those 
on the house-tops. The American troops from un- 
der the archways now joined them and followed the 
Mexicans in close pursuit, capturing a second line 
that was formed across the road. As no other re- 
enforcements came up, they reluctantly had to aban- 
don the position. But was it not quite a piece of 
generalship for the little lieutenant to execute? 
The position was retaken later, but not without con- 
siderable loss. 

Later in the day, after the Americans under Gen- 
eral Worth had advanced farther towards the city, 
young Grant did another gallant and courageous deed. 
He saw a church at the south of the road and, with 
his clear eye, saw that if a piece of artillery could be 
got to its belfry he could make it uncomfortable for 
the Mexicans. He soon got an officer with a moun- 
tain howitzer and his men to serve it. As the Mexi- 
cans held the road, the party had to go through the 
fields where there were deep ditches to cross. To do 
this the howitzer had to be taken to pieces and car- 
ried by hand to the church. 

Grant knocked and a priest came to the door. 

" Will you please let us in, sir? " said young Grant 
politely, in his best Spanish. 

The priest politely, but firmly, refused to admit the 
party. 

" Then I shall be obliged to make you my prisoner, 



48 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



and go in whether you are wiUing or not," said the 
little lieutenant. 

The priest understood, though Grant may not have 
spoken the best Spanish, and concluded to let them in. 

They carried the howitzer to the belfry, put it to- 
gether, and began to drop shot among the enemy in 
the houses back of the San Cosme Gate. The Mexi- 
cans were astonished and panic-stricken and scandal- 
ized when shot came so unexpectedly. 

General Worth saw from his position the great 
effect this gun had upon the Mexicans, and was so 
pleased that he sent Lieutenant Pemberton (the same 
who, during the Civil War, surrendered Vicksburg 
to General Grant) to bring the little lieutenant to 
him. 

" It is very fine work, Lieutenant ; every shot tells ! 
I will send you another gun." 

Now military etiquette does not allow an inferior 
officer to make reply to a suggestion of his superior. 
So Grant, standing at attention, saluted, saying: 

Thank you, General," though he knew there was not 
room in the belfry for another gun. 

These exploits of young Grant were much talked 
of among the soldiers and he was mentioned with 
high compliments in the reports. General Worth 
made his " acknowledgments to Lieutenant Grant for 
distinguished services " ; Captain Horace Brooks, in 
his report, says : " Here Lieutenant U. S. Grant 
found me. By a joint movement, after an obstinate 
resistance, the strong field work was carried and the 
enemy's right completely turned." Major Francis 



COMMISSIONED A CAPTAIN 49 



Lee of the 4th Infantry said in his report, " Lieu- 
tenant Grant and Captain Brooks, 2nd Artillery, 
with a few men . . . made a handsome move- 
ment and turned the right flank of the enemy. . . . 
Lieutenant Grant behaved with distinguished gal- 
lantry." Colonel Garland also says, " Lieutenant 
Grant acquitted himself most nobly upon several oc- 
casions under my observation." 

But for all this, our little lieutenant was made 
only a first lieutenant and afterwards a brevet cap- 
tain. But it formed a post-graduate course of mili- 
tary instruction of great value in after years, when 
we were fighting for the very life of the nation and 
he commanded the Union armies. 



CHAPTER V 



A SOLDIER IN PEACE 

The treaty of peace between the United States and 
Mexico was at last ratified. It took a long time for 
it to reach Washington and to return, for there were 
no railroads across the continent in those days. Dur- 
ing this interval the young soldier saw as much of 
Mexico as possible. He saw one bull-fight, which is 
the popular sport of the Mexicans. It was sickening 
to him, for he could not understand how any one 
could enjoy the sufferings of animals. Among other 
points of interest he visited the volcano of Popocate- 
petl, the highest on the American continent; also the 
great caves of Mexico. Through all his after life it 
was a pleasure for him to talk about Mexico and its 
people. 

While still quartermaster the regimental funds ran 
low and there was need of money; so he resorted to 
an ingenious expedient to get it. A ration of flour, 
when baked into hard bread, made more than a ra- 
tion, and so he got a contract to bake bread, hired an 
oven and Mexican bakers, and soon had made more 
money for the regiment than his pay amounted to 
while in Mexico. It seemed through life that he 
could do better for an army, or his regiment, than he 
could for himself. 

50 



A SOLDIER IN PEACE 51 



At last the news of the ratification of peace came. 
His regiment marched to the coast and, barely escap- 
ing the yellow fever then prevailing, embarked for 
home. On its arrival it was sent to the barracks near 
New Orleans. 

The young soldier, impatient to see his intended 
wife, got a furlough of four months and went to St. 
Louis. He was now a brevet captain, twenty-five 
years of age, bronzed by the sun of Mexico, distin- 
guished for courage and ability, but very shy in man- 
ner and little given to talk. 

On the 226. of August he was married to Miss 
Julia Dent, the sister of his classmate, whose life he 
had saved, and the daughter of Mr. Frederick Dent 
of St. Louis. As a wedding tour he took his bride 
to visit his home in Ohio. His father, proud of his 
hero son fresh from the victorious fields of Mexico, 
was delighted. It is said that, however busy, he 
would stop on the street, even in the rain, to talk of 
" my Ulysses." The young soldier had a delightful 
time at home, and no one there sneered at young 
Grant now. He was Captain Grant, mentioned in 
army bulletins for gallantry in battles, distinguished 
for courage and coolness in the presence of dangers. 
It is said that during this visit he was full of boyish 
joyousness, and spent some of his time practicing 
with the lariat ; and that he tried it on the pigs, cows, 
and other farm animals. 

After this care-free vacation he rejoined his regi- 
ment, then at Sackett's Harbor, near Detroit. He oc- 
cupied here modest regimental quarters which his 



52 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



wife brightened with womanly touches. He attended 
church regularly, was boyish in looks, and kept him- 
self in the background except in speeding a horse 
which he owned, when he usually got to the front in 
a race. At that time he was heard to refuse to join 
a drinking party and gave his reason for the refusal 
by saying, I have become convinced that there is 
no safety from ruin by liquor except by abstaining 
from it altogether." At that time the habit of using 
liquors was almost universal, especially among army 
officers, and it took courage to say this. The only 
time when he seemed to lack courage was when called 
on for a speech. On one occasion, when he was 
called upon for a toast at dinner, he rose, blushing 
and diffident, and said, " I can face the music, but I 
can't make a speech." This is the only time on record 
when young Grant was known to indulge in what 
might look like self-praise. 

A merchant at one time expressed surprise that 
such a man should be made regimental quartermaster. 
The officer who heard the remark replied, " He may 
not be much on papers, but you'd ought to see him in 
a fight!" 

While quartered in Detroit in the early spring, he 
had a bout with a young shop-keeper named Zack 
Chandler, because he did not keep the walk in front 
of his shop clear of ice. Several officers had fallen 
on the sidewalk, but did not care to complain of the 
big, burly shop-keeper, who was reputed to be rather 
fond of a fight. Grant, who feared nothing, at last 



A SOLDIER IN PEACE 53 



made a complaint. Chandler went to trial, and was 
quite abusive. Young Grant's friends thought 
Chandler w^ould surely whip him; but^the quiet little 
officer had a way with him that showed that such a 
proceeding would be dangerous to the one who under- 
took it. He never provoked a fight needlessly, but 
he had a way of keeping rowdies and roughs at arm's 
length. This same Zack Chandler was elected mayor 
of Detroit while young Grant was there, and after- 
wards became a noted man in the politics of the nation. 

In the spring of 185 1 the regiment was again 
ordered to Sackett's Harbor, and in the following 
spring was sent to the Pacific coast. In July eight 
companies of about seven hundred officers and men 
sailed on a steamer called the Ohio for Aspinwall. 
The steamer was full, even before these seven hun- 
dred men came on board, and the additional number 
crowded it to suffocation. 

When Aspinwall was reached, the streets were 
found two or three inches under water. July is the 
height of the rainy season, when heat and moisture 
make the atmosphere extremely uncomfortable and 
unhealthful. At that time the Panama Railroad ran 
no further than the Chagres River, and the rest of 
the passage to Panama was made on mules and boats 
propelled by natives. On young Grant rested the 
difficult task of transportation and care of public 
property. The contract for the transportation of the 
regiment had been made with the steamship com- 
pany in New York. All of the regiment except one 



54 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



company took boats, propelled by the natives, for 
Gorgona and from there marched to Panama and 
were soon on the steamer anchored in the bay. 

Young Grant, with one company of the regiment 
and all the soldiers with families, together with the 
tents and baggage, was sent to Cruces, higher up the 
treacherous Chagres River. There the shiftless per- 
son who had contracted to take them to Panama had 
no means to fulfill his agreement. To make mat- 
ters worse, the cholera had broken out and men and 
women were dying every hour. In this emergency 
Grant sent the company ahead to Panama in order 
to preserve them from the cholera, while he stayed 
alone with the sick and those who had families. 
With grim determination, he battled with disease and 
adversity and finally, making a contract for transpor- 
tation in behalf of the government, grimly fought 
his way to Panama, where he at last arrived with a 
loss of about one-third of his party by death. 

Although on the Pacific side of the Isthmus, the 
steamer could not proceed until the cholera had 
abated. In the midst of the frenzy and fear young 
Grant was cool and patient and seemed to think only 
of his duties and not of himself. His iron resolu- 
tion and endurance were tried to the uttermost. The 
cholera had broken out on shipboard, and Grant had 
the responsibility of providing for accommodation of 
hospital quarters there. The baggage and clothing 
were fumigated and vigorous measures adopted which 
finally exterminated the cholera. 

The regiment arrived at last in San Francisco Bay 



A SOLDIER IN PEACE 



55 



and went into camp at Benicia, a short distance out 
from San Francisco. From this place they took 
steamer for Oregon and were soon at Fort Vancouver, 
where he remained one year. 

The quarters of the regiment were log huts, and 
the furniture was made of green wood with an ax. 
It was a dreary period for him. There were inter- 
vals of months when he did not hear from his wife 
and the dear ones at home. There was but little 
comfort in the garrison life, and the price of every 
necessity was high. A cook could not be hired for 
the pay of a captain; flour was twenty-five cents a 
pound; potatoes were sixteen cents and everything 
else proportionately high. To send for his wife and 
support her on the Pacific coast was impossible. 

All attempts to make money in addition to his pay 
failed. With three of his officer friends, a team of 
horses was purchased for the purpose of raising a 
crop of potatoes for themselves and selling the sur- 
plus. Grant plowed while his two friends planted the 
potatoes. 

They had an enormous crop. But everybody 
seemed to have planted potatoes, and the only ones 
they disposed of were to themselves. The Columbia 
River overflowed, saving them the trouble of digging 
the potatoes. It seemed as though fate had deter- 
mined that the young officer should fail in everything 
he undertook for himself, and succeed in all he under- 
took for the government. 

He performed his duties faithfully and well; he 
built barracks, repaired wagons. It was a dreary 



56 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



year, separated from his wife and his children; for 
another child had been born since he left home. 

One whom he knew at this time tells the story 
that Grant once showed him the last page of a letter 
from his wife, where she had traced in pencil the 
baby's hand to show its size. Tears were seen in his 
eyes as he put it quickly away. 

Rufus Ingalls, with whom he had quarters at this 
time, said of him, " He was the perfect soul of honor 
and truth, and believed every one as artless as him- 
self." This quality of belief in the integrity of 
others continued to be a quality which he carried 
all through life and was the cause of many of his 
failures in life. 

His duties did not fill his time and enforced idleness 
was not to his taste. Though separated from those 
he loved he did not complain, yet he grew more grim 
and silent and somber. In August he was promoted 
to command a company and ordered to Fort Hum- 
boldt, two hundred and forty miles from San Fran- 
cisco. 

Here he did not get along well w^ith Colonel Bu- 
chanan. His duties were irksome and he took little 
interest in his new associates or their amusements. 
There is much to show that he was heart-sick. He 
could not hope to support his family on a captain's 
pay, and had not money enough to get them to the 
Pacific coast in case he could. 

He acknowledged the receipt of his commission 
and accepted it on the nth of April, and on the same 
day wrote his resignation. 



A SOLDIER IN PEACE 



57 



When he started for home he had but Httle money, 
but expected to collect a debt owed him by a man in 
San Francisco, probably borrowed money; but the 
man who owed him could not or would not pay the 
debt. He was consequently left without money in a 
strange city. One of his army friends found him at 
a little hotel in a poorly furnished room. He was 
badly discouraged. His head was bowed in sadness 
and grief. These trials are, as is often proved, the 
fires through which all great natures must pass to 
refine and strengthen them for their higher destinies. 
Lincoln carried such a shadow on his sad and 
thoughtful face during all his career as President of 
this nation, and to his grave. It is the signet stamp 
of destiny, the impress of those that rise from lowly 
life to highest destinies. 

His friend, who was United States quartermaster 
of the Pacific coast, arranged for his passage to New 
York and loaned him money enough for his other 
expenses. Arriving in New York he was again with- 
out money. He had expected to get money from an- 
other man that owed him, but failed even to see him. 
Captain Buckner, afterwards General Buckner of the 
Confederate Army, and other army friends at last 
loaned him money enough with which to get home. 



CHAPTER VI 



WORKING FOR A LIVING 

His home-coming was not pleasant. Jesse Grant 
was a grim, hard man who had fought his way up- 
ward from poverty to comparative prosperity, and 
had but Httle sympathy for his son in his troubles. 
His son Ulysses was, apparently, a failure and he 
manifested but little pleasure at his home-coming. 
His mother, however, was glad to have him leave the 
army. 

Grant spent but a short time at his old home and 
soon went with his wife to her home in St. Louis. 
This was in the summer of 1854. He was then 
thirty-two years of age, without capital, and without 
training for any pursuit in civil life. Any one begin- 
ning life with a famly to support under such adverse 
conditions would have found as hard a struggle for ex- 
istence as Grant did. 

His father-in-law gave Mrs. Grant about sixty 
acres of land five miles from St. Louis. Farm 
work, horses, and cattle appealed to him. It was the 
work of his boyhood, — a life no doubt which, if left 
for him to choose as a boy, he would have pre- 
ferred to that of a soldier. To this land he went to 
take up the hard life of a farmer who toils with his 
hands. He built himself a log house of four rooms, 

S8 



WORKING FOR A LIVING 59 



with chimneys at each end and with wide fireplaces. 
He hewed the logs and carted and scored them, and 
did most of the other work in building it with his 
own hands. With a grim humor he named this place 
on the Gravois " Hardscrabble." He had bought a 
pair of horses from a friend, and these were a great 
pleasure to him. 

This small, thin man, now doing the work of a 
farmer, with his trousers tucked into his boots, haul- 
ing wood and railroad ties to St. Louis, mowing and 
reaping, plowing and planting, was undoubtedly re- 
garded as a failure. Such rugged employment was 
regarded by gentlemen slaveholders of the locality as 
beneath them, though poorer men there often worked 
in the fields with their slaves. I doubt if this life, 
however, was not more congenial to him than army 
life on the frontier, separated from his wife and 
children and subjected to the petty exactions of mili- 
tary life. 

He loved his horses, made pets of them, and did 
good work with them. At one time it was reported 
to a neighbor that he had hauled to St. Louis sixty 
bushels of wheat at one load. The neighbor, think- 
ing it impossible, asked Grant about it as though he 
doubted the story. Grant offered to put sixty bushels 
on each of their teams and the one not getting into 
St. Louis with the wheat was to forfeit his load to 
the other. 

He often met his old army friends in St. Louis and 
was not ashamed to be seen with whip in hand, 
dressed in rough farmer style. General Beal, sitting 



6o 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



on the veranda of a hotel one day, recognized him 
and called to him, What are you doing here? " 

" I'm farming on a piece of land my wife owns 
ten miles back from here." 

" Come in and have dinner with me," said the gen- 
eral. Grant looked down at his rough garb, saying, 
" Hardly the dress for dinner, General ? " 

" Oh, that doesn't matter. Come in ! " Grant 
never forgot a generous act like that, though in his 
self-poised manner he did not show it at the time. His 
army friends generally met him cordially, for they 
were gentlemen and recognized him as such. But 
they evidently regarded him with pity as a broken, 
unfortunate man. 

Grant worked very hard, never losing a day on ac- 
count of the weather, and managed to get a living 
for his little family ; but his hands were calloused, his 
shoulders bent, and his face care-worn and toil-worn. 

It was a period of great political excitement and 
discussion over the slavery question. His father-in- 
law was a slaveholder, and all his neighbors were 
the same. The air was seething with political un- 
rest. Grant never provoked or took part in the dis- 
cussions, yet he was known to be a Northern man 
with Northern sympathies. If his opinion was asked, 
his answer was clear and decisive and there he let it 
drop. The discussions waxed hot and angry, but 
Grant minded his own business and went about his 
work. There was an impending struggle between 
the North and South and Grant saw the coming 
storm with dread. He voted for Buchanan for 



WORKING FOR A LIVING 6i 

President, hoping that with his election the conflict of 
arms might be postponed and the South have a chance 
to cool off. 

In the autumn of 1858 he had chills and fever and 
could no longer work steadily in the forest and damp 
low land. His ambition was simply to earn enough 
to support his family and educate his boys. Finding 
he could not work on the farm effectively, he took a 
partnership with Henry Boggs in a real-estate busi- 
ness in St. Louis. He lived in the city, in a little 
back room, going home Saturday nights to remain 
over Sunday with his family. 

In the following spring he sold his stock and farm 
tools and moved his family to a little house in St. 
Louis. He had had no training for such a business. 
He could never dicker, went straight ahead with 
candid propositions in a trade, had no disposition to 
get the best of a bargain, or to sell a man something 
he did not want. He could not conduct small affairs. 
As there proved to be not enough money in the busi- 
ness for two, the partnership was soon dissolved. 

Shortly after this Grant got a situation as clerk in 
the Custom House; but the Collector, who was his 
friend, died and his successor, who had his own 
friends to reward, put another man in his place. 

He next applied for the position of county engi- 
neer, a kind of work for which his education emi- 
nently fitted him. His petition for this place was 
endorsed by Professor J. J. Reynolds of Washington 
University, and by D. M. Frost, who was for three 
years in West Point Academy with Captain Grant. 



62 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



He was defeated. It shows how bitter this defeat 
was to him, when, in his Memoirs, he says : " My 
opponent had the advantage of birth over me (he was 
a citizen by adoption) and carried off the prize." 
He had now been for about four years strugghng 
with adversity in this locaHty. 

His position at this time, which at best was hard to 
bear, was made the more so by the fact that he was 
a Northern man and was known to have Northern 
sympathies. His father-in-law, hotly Southern in 
sentiment, was given to sneering at Yankees, and most 
of his acquaintances were of the same kind. A 
Northerner among such was looked upon as an inter- 
loper, and the invectives then showered upon North- 
ern men were hard to bear. Many who should have 
known better seemed to think that Northern men were 
not only all abolitionists, but were in favor of giving 
their slaves social equality with their masters. The 
Republican party, then forming, was looked upon 
with horror. It was believed that, in case they 
elected their candidate for President, the South would 
be subject to a slave insurrection, negro equality, 
and all sorts of other evils. Treason was openly 
advocated, and even moderate men were in favor of 
secession in case of the ascendency of the hated anti- 
slavery men of the North. 

Grant had failed to succeed in getting a living in 
St. Louis and was looked upon as a dead failure. It 
might be said of him that he was despised of men; 
many, whom he well knew, shared so deeply the in- 
creasing bitter sectionalism that they refused his hand. 



WORKING FOR A LIVING 



63 



There came, however, an unexpected turn in his 
fortunes. In the spring of i860 his father offered 
him a place in the leather business with his brothers, 
and Captain Grant thankfully accepted the position, 
and again went to his father's home with his wife. 

While in Galena he was a clerk on a salary of 
fifty dollars a month; but, though nominally a clerk, 
it was the intention of his father eventually to give 
up the whole business to his sons. The older brother, 
who had mostly built up the business (it was not the 
tannery; that was in another place), was sinking with 
consumption, of which he died a 3^ear later. Captain 
Grant was bill clerk, collection agent, and indeed 
turned his hand with unremitting diligence to what- 
ever was required of him. He had a little house on 
the outskirts of the town, had his brother as a 
boarder, and was sure of a roof over his head, a 
plain living, and a chance to educate his boys. 

When his work was done at the leather store he spent 
his evenings reading to his wife or in playing with his 
children. He wore his army overcoat about the town 
and was known to the townspeople as Captain Grant. 
He formed no intimate acquaintances, but would talk 
if questioned, and was looked upon as an interesting 
talker. 

At one time he made a business trip into Wiscon- 
sin and Iowa, talked with the people, and was an in- 
terested listener to the political discussion going on 
at the groceries and hotels, and in this way got a 
deeper insight into the methods of thought among the 
plain Northern people. 



64 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



There was great excitement attendant upon the elec- 
tion of a President in the fall of i860. The real con- 
test was between Abraham Lincoln, who was the 
candidate of the new^ Republican party, which was in 
favor of keeping slavery out of the territories; and J. 
C. Breckinridge, the presidential candidate of the 
Democratic party, which was in favor of carrying 
slavery wherever the flag of the nation went in the 
United States. There were two other candidates, but 
the contest was really between these two opponents. 
We all know that Abraham Lincoln was elected 
President, and that the South, claiming that her Con- 
stitutional rights w^ere thereby endangered, began to 
w^ithdraw from the Union. 

That Captain Grant was watchful of the situation is 
show^n by a letter to a friend in St. Louis about this 
time. He wrote : " With my new employment I have 
become pretty conversant and am much pleased with 
it. I hope to be a partner soon. How do you feel 
on the subject of secession in St. Louis? ... It 
is hard to realize that a state of states should com- 
mit so suicidal an act as to secede from the Union, 
though I have no doubt from what I hear that five of 
them will do so." 

In reply to an assertion by a Galena acquaintance 
that there w^ere more brag and bluster than fight among 
Southerners, he replied, " You are mistaken ; they will 
fight." He understood the situation, both North and 
South, better than most men. He w-as an interested 
listener to the discussions going on in Galena. Though 
he did not take part in them, if he was asked his opin- 



WORKING FOR A LIVING 65 



ion he gave it, clear and sharp, and that ended his talk 
about it: he would not argue. 

The young people who read these pages have studied 
in school the causes of the great Civil War which was 
waged in this country from 1861 to 1865, but per- 
haps they would like to take another look at it in con- 
nection with this story of its greatest general, for it 
was the greatest war ever waged in any country and 
Grant was one of the greatest generals known to his- 
tory. Let me, therefore, digress to explain the situa- 
tion. 

In old times before the Revolution, the thirteen col- 
onies were entirely independent of each other, except 
that they were under the common government of Great 
Britain. As they had found that government oppres- 
sive, they had no mind to put themselves again un- 
der any power which could interfere with their dearly 
bought independence. They had, to be sure, a Conti- 
nental Congress and some Articles of Confederation; 
but Congress could do nothing more than advise these 
very independent states what they would better do. 
The states did quite as they liked about taking ad- 
vice. 

This loose confederation, that looked so free and 
independent, worked very badly. As a united people 
Americans could keep peace at home and ward off an 
outside enemy; but as thirteen separate states they 
quarreled among themselves and could easily have 
been conquered, one by one, by any foreign nation. 

Very reluctantly, therefore, the states formed a new 
general government with sufficient power to protect 



66 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



their interests at home or abroad. But no sooner was 
it formed than people began to dispute as to how much 
power they had already given to the new government. 
One party claimed that the states were still " sov- 
ereign " ; that is, that they need only obey this central 
power when it pleased them to do so. The other held 
that the Federal Government or the " Union," as they 
called it, was supreme. Naturally, when anything dis- 
pleasing came up, as there did on several occasions, 
these " State Sovereignty folk would threaten to 
leave the ^' Union " and set up anew for themselves. 

Of all the various bones of contention between 
these two parties, nothing caused so much trouble as 
slavery. When slaves were brought here, slavery was 
common everywhere. But people generally came to 
think it wrong, and they not only freed their slaves 
but condemned slave-catchers to the same punishment 
as pirates. 

At last slavery was given up by all civilized peoples 
except those in our own Southern states. Naturally, 
the people in the free states tried to have slavery abol- 
ished from this free country, but every effort to this 
end incensed the South, and when, at last, the Repub- 
lican party, which stood for the restriction of slavery 
within the states where it then existed, elected Abra- 
ham Lincoln President, the South declared their " pe- 
culiar institution " w^as threatened and that, as sov- 
ereign states, they should use their rights to secede 
from the Union. This they did, eleven of them join- 
ing in a new government which they called the " Con- 
federate States of America." To prevent the provi- 



WORKING FOR A LIVING 67 



sioning of Fort Sumter, they fired upon that fort, and 
the battle of words gave way to the battle of arms. 

Abraham Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand 
men to suppress rebellion against the laws, maintain 
the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our Na- 
tional Union, . . . and to redress wrongs already 
too long endured." This appeal to arms was answered 
with an enthusiasm that never wavered until the states 
were restored to their allegiance again. 

When this call reached Galena, a meeting was called 
at the Court House. The mayor, who was a " peace- 
at-any-price Democrat," made a speech. Representa- 
tive to Congress Washburn replied, introducing a reso- 
lution to support the government of the United 
States in the performance of all its Constitutional du- 
ties in the great crisis." John Rawlins, a young law- 
yer, afterward Grant's chief-of-staff, made an im- 
passioned speech, appeahng to the patriotism of those 
present. Captain Grant, silent but observant, was 
there. Some one after the meeting said to him, " We 
had a good meetmg, after all." " Yes," replied Grant 
sharply, " we are about to do something! " 

The next evening a meeting was held to raise vol- 
unteers for the war. Grant was present and was 
elected chairman. He hesitated, but finally went dif- 
fidently to the desk. Platform ! Platform ! " 
shouted the crowd. He made a brief speech, saying: 

The army is not a picnic nor an excursion. 
You may be obliged to sleep on the bare ground in 
rain or snow and make long, disagreeable marches. 
The orders of your superiors must be obeyed, without 



68 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



question, though they may seem unjust. I intend to 
reenlist myself and will aid the company you form all 
I can." Captain Grant's speech had brought the meet- 
ing down to the realities of war and had taken the 
bombast all out of it. 

A company was formed. Captain Grant drilled 
them, superintended the buying of cloth and the mak- 
ing of their uniforms, and, a week after, the company 
was ready for service. 

When the company went to Springfield, Illinois, 
Grant was seen, with a lank carpet-bag, following 
them. They had offered to make him captain of the 
company, but he had refused, saying, " I have been in 
the military service fourteen years and think I am 
competent to command a regiment." 

He had heard his country's call, and never went back 
to the leather store again. 



CHAPTER VII 



COLONEL OF THE 2 1 ST ILLINOIS 

At the time of Captain Grant's arrival in Spring- 
field the capital was crowded by those who had an- 
swered Lincoln's call for volunteers. The men were 
there, but there was little knowledge on the part of 
the state authorities of how to organize them. That 
my young readers may more fully understand the 
meaning of the term military organization " I will 
explain: A mere crowd of men is not an army, any 
more than a mass of steel and iron is a steam engine. 
They are not useful as a military machine until the 
whole have learned to answer to commands as a single 
person. First, each man must be taught his duties as 
a soldier; then, a hundred of them are taught to act 
together; then, ten of these companies must be taught 
to move all together at the word of command, as 
though it were one man instead of a thousand. To do 
this, not only each soldier in the ranks, but each offi- 
cer, must learn to do his part in controlling this ma- 
chine made up of men; and, over all, there must be a 
controlling mind which has both knowledge and power 
to make this machine act together as companies, regi- 
ments, and brigades. 

Captain Grant was, possibly, the only man in all 
that throng of would-be captains, colonels and gen- 

69 



70 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



erals with the needful knowledge to make this throng 
into a military machine. 

In his rusty citizen suit of clothes he called upon 
the Governor to tell him that the company which he 
had helped to organize was ready to be mustered into 
the service, and also to tender his own services to help 
the government. 

There was an extraordinary session of the legis- 
lature at the capital, and the office of the governor 
was thronged with those who wanted office or favors. 
Some wanted to be made captains, others colonels or 
generals, and all these seekers for place were backed 
by social and political influence. Grant had none of 
these to help him, and among this throng of pushing, 
self-seeking men the thin little ex-captain, in his rusty 
citizen dress, was seemingly of not much importance. 
When he offered his services to the Governor in his 
modest, unpretentious way, the Governor said, ''I am 
sorry, Captain Grant, that we have nothing for you," 
but added, as public men will without meaning any- 
thing by it, Call again ! " 

Grant remained in Springfield until he felt that there 
would be no call for his military services. He said to 
an acquaintance : I'm going home. There is no 
chance for me among these politicians. The govern- 
ment educated me, and I have had some experience 
that ought to be of use, and so have felt that I must 
offer my services again." 

At that time there was not a clerk or official at the 
capital who understood how to make, in proper form, 
requisitions (orders) for food, clothing, or arms. The 



COLONEL OF THE 21ST ILLINOIS 71 



Governor may have been told that Captain Grant un- 
derstood such business, for, just as Grant was ready to 
leave, the Governor spoke to him, as he was standing 
at the door of the hotel, saying, ''Captain, I under- 
stand that you are going to leave Spring"field ? " 

Yes, sir," replied Grant, " that's my intention." 

" I wish you would stay and call at my office to-mor- 
row morning," said the Governor. 

Grant called, and was assigned a desk in the adju- 
tant-general's office. 

Necessity, rather than choice, had compelled the 
Governor to ask for his services. Here the ordnance 
department first called for his attention ; then the ad- 
jutant-general's ; then the quartermaster's ; and in 
turn all others. He soon proved his efficiency. All 
the army forms were at his fingers' ends, and when 
they were filled out he knew where they were to be 
sent. While attending to these duties, some one in- 
quired who he was and was told, " He's a dead beat 
military man, a discharged officer of the regulars." 
While ruling blanks one day he said to an acquaint- 
ance, " A boy could do this work." It was found, 
however, that when military information of any kind 
was needed he could give it clearly and concisely ; and 
he soon became, in his quiet, unassuming way, military 
adviser to the Governor and his officials. His atten- 
tion was less and less required in the offices. He did 
his work thoroughly and well and order took the place 
of confusion. The ease with which the state of Illi- 
nois settled its accounts after the war is evidence of 
his efficiency at that time. He then assisted in drilling 



72 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



the volunteers and in mustering them into the service. 

Captain Grant went home to Galena for a day or 
two and while there wrote to the adjutant-general of 
the United States Army, saying : 

" Sir: Having served for fifteen years in the regu- 
lar army, including four years at West Point, and feel- 
ing it the duty of every one who has been educated at 
the government expense to offer his services for the 
support of the government, I have the honor, very re- 
spectfully, to tender my services, until the close of the 
war, in such capacity as may be offered. I would say, 
in view of my present age and length of service, I 
feel myself competent to command a regiment if the 
President in his judgment should see fit to intrust one 
to me." 

One would suppose that, in the great need of edu- 
cated and experienced soldiers, the adjutant-general 
would have hastened to avail himself of such services, 
or at least acknowledge the letter. But no answer 
was ever made to it. On one occasion Grant was sent 
to muster in a regiment in camp at Belleville, near St. 
Louis. While in that city he witnessed the unwilling 
^removal of a rebel flag from a prominent building at 
the order of Union men of the city. On the cars a 
young Southern swell, full of rage and swagger about 
the removal, and seeming to be in no doubt of Grant's 
sympathy, said to him, " We'd hang a man where I 

came from if he dared to say a word for the 

Union." 



COLONEL OF THE 21 ST ILLINOIS 73 



" We are not as bad as tliat here," said Grant. " I 
have not seen a single rebel hanged in St. Louis, or 
heard of one ; but there are a plenty that ought to be." 
This was said in such crisp, clear, calm tones that the 
swell winced, and had the captain pointed to the door 
the swell w^ould, undoubtedly, have left the car. 

After all the regiments authorized by the state of 
Illinois had been mustered into the service, Captain 
Grant visited his parents at Covington, Kentucky, op- 
posite Cincinnati. His real purpose, however, was to 
see George B. McClellan, who had been appointed ma- 
jor-general with headquarters in that city. He had 
known him at West Point and in Mexico and hoped 
that if he saw him he would offer him a place on his 
staff. He called, sent in his name, but did not see him. 
He called the next day with the same result. 

" It is strange," he said to an acquaintance, " that a 
man of my education and experience cannot secure a 
command." 

Possibly the reason for this was that Captain Grant 
w^as lacking in that kind of talent which advertises it- 
self and by words and wire-pulling pushes itself into 
notice. 

One of the regiments that he had mustered into the 
service was the 21st Illinois. Originally it had elected 
for its colonel a young man who, though at first very 
popular, soon showed himself to be a person with more 
show than substance and unfit for the place. He was 
good-looking, had abundance of assertion and swag- 
ger, posed as a sort of Napoleon, but had neither the 
ability nor training for his position. Now that there 



74 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



was a prospect of fighting, officers and soldiers felt 
that they should have a man to command who under- 
stood the business. It seems that Grant had made an 
impression on the regiment, for they had named the 
rendezvous Camp Grant." 

Some of the officers waited on the Governor, re- 
questing him to appoint Captain Grant as colonel of 
the regiment. The Governor consented and tele- 
graphed to Grant, " Will you accept the command of 
the 2 1 St regiment? " Captain Grant joyfully accepted 
and reported at once for duty in Springfield. 

On taking command he found the regiment disor- 
derly and without a proper sense of subordination. 
The guard-house had been burned, and there had been 
a riot about poor rations. The farmers complained 
that their chickens had been abducted, and the citizens 
of the soldiers' drunken and uproarious conduct on 
the streets. 

There was a little ceremony in introducing the new 
colonel to his command. John A. McClernand and 
John A. Logan were both present and made fervid and 
patriotic addresses. Grant was in shabby citizen's dress 
and had sat quietly, in his self-effacing way, back from 
the audience, unnoticed. As Logan closed his eloquent 
appeal for loyalty and devotion to the Union, he led 
Captain Grant forward, saying, " Allow me to present 
to you your commander." ]\Iany of the men had not 
noticed him before, and were disappointed with his 
looks. One of them said, " What, is that little chap 
our colonel ? " " Looks like he didn't amount to 
shucks," said another; "sort of looks like an under- 



COLONEL OF THE 21 ST ILLINOIS 73 



taker." But three cheers for the new colonel were 
proposed and given, and then the men clamored for a 
speech. " Grant ! Grant ! speech ! speech 1 " they 
shouted. Grant's thin, steel-trap-like lips came to- 
gether as he made his speech, which was a command : 
" Men^ go to your quarters ! " That speech ex- 
pressed Colonel Grant. It meant obedience, action, 
not words. 

A noticeable change took place in the regiment. His 
orders were given calmly and with decision; and dis- 
obedience brought a sure punishment. There was no 
bluster or threatening. Drunkenness was checked and 
liquor forbidden in camp, foraging and absence from 
duty without leave were stopped. The officers were 
instructed in their duties. 

When one of the men persisted in bringing Uquor 
into camp and was abusive and profane, Colonel Grant 
whirled him around by the shoulder, pointing him out 
of camp, and kicked him into the road, saying, " Get 
out of here ; I won't have you in my regiment. If you 
come here again I will order you shot ! " Another 
rough he punished by having him tied up. The man 
threatened and abused him, saying. " For every mo- 
ment I stand here I will have an ounce of your blood." 
Grant finally released him with his own hands to 
show his men that he was not afraid of him. This may 
seem very rough to my young readers, but in the army 
order and obedience must be enforced, and such men 
must be sometimes violently dealt with, or they con- 
taminate the others. There is no argument like force 
to that kind of men. 



76 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



The men saw that it was good for them, and good 
for the reputation of the regiment, to have a colonel 
who could exact obedience. 

At this time Grant had neither horse nor sword ; he 
was obliged to go home and borrow money to buy 
them. The regiment was ready to move. The Gov- 
ernor had got orders to send a regiment to the north- 
ern part of Missouri, and Colonel Grant said, Send 
me." 

" I have no transportation," said the Governor. 

" The order gives us ten days ; I'll march my regi- 
ment there," said Grant. 

The march began. The regiment was now under 
fair discipline. 

When on horseback the colonel was admired by his 
men; he could ride. On the march he taught them 
how to make themselves comfortable ; he instructed 
them in many things that an old soldier knows, but 
which a recruit has to learn. When they arrived in 
Missouri the regiment was under good discipline and 
was proud of it. They began to say, We've got 
the best regiment and the best colonel there are here." 

Leisurely marches were made until they had crossed 
the Illinois River, when there came an order changing 
their destination. Before this order could be carried 
out, another order arrived sending him to the relief 
Illinois regiment that was said to be surrounded by 
rebels near Palmyra, in Missouri. 

When advancing to w^hat was thought might be a 
battle-field, Grant in his Memoirs depicts his feel- 



COLONEL OF THE 21 ST ILLINOIS 77 



ings as anything but agreeable. His anxiety was, how- 
ever, reheved when, before crossing the Mississippi 
River, he found that the enemy had run away. 

Shortly after this he was sent in pursuit of a band 
of men under Ben Harris, who were said to be en- 
camped at the town of Florida, twenty-five miles away. 
On the road they found every house deserted. The 
people had fled before the hated and feared Yankee 
invaders. Grant kept his men in the ranks and did 
not allow them to enter the deserted homes or take 
anything from the premises. He felt uneasy and 
nervous, until at last he arrived on the brow of a hill 
in sight of where the rebel camp was supposed to be. 
The place was there, but Ben Harris had decamped. 
He learned that when the rebel leader had heard of 
the coming of the 21st Illinois, he had left at about 
the time it had started in pursuit. It occurred then 
to Colonel Grant that the enemy had been as much 
afraid of him as he of them. In his ^Memoirs he 
says, " It was a view of the question I had never 
taken before.'' After that he never forgot that the 
enemy had as much cause to fear him as he had to 
fear the enemy. 

While still a colonel he was put in command of 
several other regiments, at a place called Mexico. 
The men of these regiments were in the habit of enter- 
ing houses and ordering food and drink, and commit- 
ting other depredations. He soon had these regi- 
ments under good discipline, a thing that the citizens 
soon recognized. Colonel Grant won his way gradu- 



78 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



ally, not by outside influence, but by his ability as a 
soldier; he was the right man in the right place, and 
had the quality of doing the right thing at the right 
time. 



CHAPTER VIII 



BRIGADIER-GENERAL GRANT 

While Grant was absent from his headquarters, 
there came a telegram addressed to " Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Grant." His officers and men, taking the hint 
from this, upon his return were drawn up in line and 
received him with cheers for " General " Grant. It 
was peculiarly appropriate that the regiment that he 
first commanded should first acclaim him as general. 

Upon receiving this appointment he wrote to John 
A. Rawlins, the young lawyer whom we have previ- 
ously mentioned as having made an eloquent speech 
at the first war meeting in Galena, asking him to be 
his assistant adjutant-general. Rawlins accepted and 
remained with Grant until he became his chief-of-staff 
with the rank of brigadier-general. 

Grant was now sent to command a military district 
at Ironton, Missouri. Thence he was ordered to re- 
port for special instructions to General Fremont, in 
St. Louis. He found Fremont's headquarters so 
guarded by aids, officers in gold lace, and guards, and 
orderlies, that Grant was twenty- four hours in trying 
to reach him before he succeeded. 

Fremont assigned Grant to the command of the 
district of Southeast Missouri. This brought him 

79 



8o 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



within the sphere of great campaigns. He was to 
fight, henceforth, for the possession of the Mississippi 
River and its tributaries. In war the possession of 
roads and navigable rivers, is of vast importance. 
Should the Confederates get undisputed control of 
the Mississippi and its tributaries, they could not only 
greatly embarrass the business of the great West, but 
could defeat any attempt to subdue them by the United 
States. If the Union army and navy could hold the 
Mississippi they could inflict a terrible blow by split- 
ting the Confederacy in two. 

After fitting out an expedition for the capture of 
Colonel Jeff Thompson, Grant removed his headquar- 
ters to Cairo. This town is situated in southwestern 
Illinois, at the tip of a V-shaped piece of land formed 
by the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, 
and thrust in between Kentucky on one hand and Mis- 
souri on the other. 

On Grant's arrival at Cairo he found Colonel Rich- 
ard Oglesby in command. His office w^as crowded by 
citizens making complaints or asking favors, and Colo- 
nel Oglesby did not catch the name of the modest 
visitor in citizen's dress. Grant, however, seated him- 
self at the desk, wrote an order assuming command 
and handed it to the colonel before Oglesby under- 
stood who his visitor was. " He looked," said Grant 
afterwards, " as though he would like to have some 
one identify me." 

It was not chance that had brought him to the com- 
mand of this great military depot and rendezvous, with 
its several outlying posts and districts and all its com- 



BRIGADIER-GENERAL GRANT 8i 



plicated duties of forwarding and collecting supplies. 
He had demonstrated continually his fitness for such 
a position. His reports to the War Department had 
been clear and sharp as the crack of a rifle. He was 
always accomplishing something. He made no com- 
plaints or excuses, but always found a way to accom- 
plish whatever he undertook. He made his way step 
by step, not by favor or influence, but by what he did. 
He demonstrated continually that he was the right 
man in the right place. 

At that time the Confederates under General Polk 
held Columbus, a strong point on the Mississippi River 
twenty miles below the Ohio, and also controlled the 
Tennessee and Cumberland rivers; and they were 
threatening to control the Ohio River by seizing Padu- 
cah, a place on its banks in Kentucky. 

Grant at once, upon learning of this design, tele- 
graphed to Fremont asking permission to take the 
place. Receiving no answ^er, he again telegraphed, 
saying, " Unless I hear from you to the contrary, I 
shall move on Paducah at once." 

With his usual energy he chartered river boats, got 
his troops on board, and in the early morning arrived 
at Paducah, taking possession without firing a gun. 
It was none too soon, for there was a Confederate 
force of four thousand men within two hours' march 
of the town. 

It was the first place Grant had ever entered in sole 
command. Consternation prevailed among its people 
upon learning that the " Yankees had come.'* Women 
and children came to the doors of their houses, pale 



82 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



and frightened at sight of the invaders of whom they 
had heard dreadful things. 

He at once reheved their fears by the following 

Proclamation 

To the Citkens of Padiicah: 

I have come among you, not as an enemy, but as 
your friend and fellow-citizen ; not to injure or annoy 
you, but to respect and defend the rights of all loyal 
citizens. An enemy in rebellion against our common 
government has taken possession of and planted its 
guns upon the soil of Kentucky and fired upon our 
flag. Hickman and Columbus are in his hands; he 
is moving upon your city. I am here to defend you 
against this enemy, and to assert and maintain the 
authority and sovereignty of your government and 
mine. I have nothing to do with opinions. I deal 
only with armed rebellion and its aiders and abettors. 
You can pursue your usual avocations without fear 
or hindrance. The strong arm of the government is 
here to protect its friends and to punish only its ene- 
mies. Whenever it is manifest that you are able to 
defend yourselves, to maintain the authority of your 
government and protect the rights of all its loyal citi- 
zens, I shall withdraw the forces under my command 
from your city. 

U. S. Grant. 

This proclamation, with the capture of the place, 
turned the tide of popular opinion against the rebels 
^nd saved Kentucky to the Union ; it also drew attcn- 



BRIGADIER-GENERAL GRANT 83 



tion to General Grant. Representative Richardson 
said in Congress, " I wish that proclamation could be 
written in letters of gold on the sky, so that everybody 
might read it." Abraham Lincoln read it and said, 
" A man who can write like that is fitted to command 
in the West." This decisive act was an exasperating 
blow to secessionists in Kentucky. 

After providing for the defense of Paducah and 
leaving a proper garrison, Grant returned to Cairo. 

New troops from the Northwest were now pouring 
in. These were undisciplined and had to be organized 
and drilled. As Buell and other generals had with 
them nearly all the educated mihtary officers, this work 
was not the least with which Grant had at this time 
to contend. The new recruits had to be taught their 
duties before they could be of use. 

By the first of November he had about twenty thou- 
sand men who were fairly organized and drilled and 
who were eager to fight. Some of the most ambitious 
among them feared that the war would be over be- 
fore they got a chance to win sufficient glory to make 
them successful candidates for political office. 

Grant had several times requested of Fremont per- 
mission to take Columbus, but had been refused. 
About this time, however, General Fremont, who had 
taken the field to fight the enemy under General Price, 
ordered Grant to make a diversion to prevent the 
enemy from sending help to Price. Movements were 
in progress for this purpose, when it became apparent 
that the Confederates at Columbus were preparing to 
send soldiers to Price, and Grant determined to stop 



84 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



them. After sending Colonel Oglesby with a force 
sufficient to hold in check three thousand men who 
were reported as being about fifty miles southwest 
from Cairo, he completed his preparations for a move. 

With about three thousand men on river boats, un- 
der protection of gunboats, he started. It had not 
been his intention at this time to attack, but simply to 
alarm the Confederates by his movement on the river. 
While on his way, however, he received information 
that determined him to break up the Confederate camp 
at Belmont, opposite Columbus. 

To make the situation clear it is necessary to ex- 
plain that the Confederates had surrounded Columbus 
with strong fortifications, in order to close the naviga- 
tion of the Mississippi River from the north and 
to make themselves masters of the locality. Pow- 
erful artillery commanded every point of the river's 
course, and the place was considered by them impreg- 
nable — a Gibraltar. On the opposite bank was Bel- 
mont, which Grant had resolved to attack. 

On the morning of the 7th of November, 1861, he 
landed his men in front of a cornfield, three miles be- 
low Belmont, at a place called Hunter's Point. To 
assist the gunboats in protecting the transports in 
which they had come, he stationed one of his regi- 
ments in a hollow, where he instructed them to remain 
until further orders. Grant, at that time, had no staff 
officer that he dared to intrust with placing these men, 
so he did it himself. About eight o'clock in the morn- 
ing he began his advance on the rebel camp. After 
marching about a mile he deployed skirmishers, who 



BRIGADIER-GENERAL GRANT 85 



soon encountered the enemy advancing boldly to meet 
them. 

The fight was sharp. Grant's horse was shot from 
under him, but he got another and kept up with the 
advance fighting line. For three hours the fight con- 
tinued. Grant was at every part of the line directing 
and urging his men. The enemy broke and were pur- 
sued so hotly that, panic-stricken, they abandoned their 
camp and took refuge from sight and shot under the 
river banks. The Union soldiers, who had never been 
in battle before, behaved like veterans and Grant was 
pleased with them. But their victory demoralized 
them, as success often does raw soldiers. They were 
frantic with joy and began shouting and singing and 
plundering the rebel camp instead of summoning the 
Confederates, who were cowering under the river 
banks, to surrender. Some of the officers rode among 
the men making patriotic or self-glorifying speeches. 

Grant saw the gray lines forming on the opposite 
shore and knew that the batteries of Columbus would 
open on him as soon as they could tell which were 
their own soldiers and which the enemy. He rode 
among his men, ordering them into line, saying to his 
officers, *'We must get out of here"; but they were 
too disorganized to obey. Grant ordered the camp to 
be set on fire and when the flames rolled up the Con- 
federates at Columbus opened fire on the camp with 
their heavy artillery. Meanwhile the rebels under the 
river banks, seeing that they were not called upon to 
surrender, had got between the Union men and their 
transports and gunboats. Then the cry came from 



86 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Grant's soldiers, " We are surrounded ; we've got to 
surrender." I think not," said Grant. We cut our 
way in, and I guess we can cut our way out! " 

These decisive words produced an instantaneous ef- 
fect. The Union lines were speedily re-formed, 
skirmishers thrown out, and the blue line again ad- 
vanced, driving before them the rebels, who were too 
demoralized to fight bravely and were soon scattered 
in flight. 

The Union wounded had been carried to some 
houses near the transports and, after ordering these 
carried on board, Grant rode out alone to withdraw 
the guard which he had established over the approach 
to his transports. He had seen the enemy crossing 
from Columbus and feared they might attack his men 
while they were getting on board of the boats. He 
was astonished to find that every man of the guard he 
had left there was gone. He rode back, found the 
officer and sternly ordered him and his men back to 
the position they had deserted ; but soon finding, how- 
ever, that there was not time to get the men together, 
he rode out alone, as a rear guard and to observe the 
movements of the enemy. 

The cornfield through which he rode was so thick 
and high that it shielded him from observation. See- 
ing a large part}' of Confederates marching in that di- 
rection, he hurried back to the transports. With that 
command of a horse for which he was noted he drove 
his horse to the steep banks of the river, for there 
was no path, and the horse, who seemed to take in the 
situation, doubled his hind legs under him and slid 



BRIGADIER-GENERAL GRANT 87 



down the bank. The boat had pushed off from the 
shore, but the captain stopped it and ran out a plank; 
over this single plank the horse trotted, fifteen feet, 
to the boat. For a time Grant had been the only Union 
soldier on shore between the transports and the enemy. 

Before Grant was aboard the boat the Confederates 
had opened fire on the transports; but the river was 
low and the men on the upper decks were below the 
banks of the river, so the fire of the Confederates did 
but little harm. One of their shot, how^ever, entered 
the cabin and struck a spot where Grant had been 
lying but a moment before. The gunboats now 
opened fire on the enemy and as they were in a fa- 
vorable position did great execution. 

The loss to the enemy, according to their official re- 
port, w^as much larger than that of the Union army. 
The object for which the battle was fought, that of 
preventing the Confederates from sending troops to 
Price, w^as fully accomplished, though the Confeder- 
ates claimed it as a victory. Grant had attacked with 
only about two thousand five hundred men and the 
Confederates had more than that behind their defenses 
at Belmont. If the battle had not been fought Colo- 
nel Oglesby, who had been sent southwest from 
Cairo, would have been captured with his three thou- 
sand men. 

This engagement had one important effect on 
Grant's little army. It taught them the value of dis- 
cipline, and especially of obedience to orders. You 
can teach men theories, but they may not see the use 
until shown by practice. 



CHAPTER IX 



UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER GRANT 

General Grant had now begun to receive some 
recognition. Acquaintances who had once disparaged 
him began to think that there might be, after all, some- 
thing in the quiet, unassuming httle Grant. His father 
visited him and gave fatherly advice, saying, " You 
have got a good position; now let well enough alone." 

On the 6th of January, 1862, Grant visited General 
Halleck, then his department commander, to lay before 
him his plan for the capture of Fort Henry on the 
Tennessee River. Halleck gruffly refused to listen to 
him. 

Grant did not, however, give up his purpose. He 
interested Flag-Officer Foote, and when both joined in 
urging his plan for the taking of Fort Henry, Halleck 
finally consented. 

One reason for this consent may have been, that 
Lincoln had become very impatient at the delays of his 
generals. He had so many soldiers and so few bat- 
tles to save the Union, that he had proposed to borrow 
them and try to do something himself. He had just 
ordered an advance of all the Union armies. 

Upon receiving the consent of Halleck, Grant began 
to move at once. On the 2nd he started his army of 
fifteen thousand men on transports (steamers) and 

88 



UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER GRANT 89 



Foote, on the 4th, followed with his gunboats to pro- 
tect and to assist in the fight. 

After a reconnoissance, Grant landed his men be- 
low the fort, which occupied a bend in the Tennessee 
River, to march upon the foe. Fort Hindman, on 
the opposite side of the river, surrendered without 
firing a shot. Foote's new iron-clad gunboats steamed 
up to within four hundred feet of the fort and opened 
fire with all their guns. Confederate General Tilgh- 
man, in command of the fort, hauled down his flag and 
surrendered and Grant moved in and took possession. 

He at once reported to Halleck, " Fort Henry is 
ours," adding with a confidence not before shown 
by any Union general, I shall take and destroy Fort 
Donelson on the 8th." 

Fort Donelson was on the Cumberland River 
within about a twelve-mile march of Fort Henry. 
When this dispatch was sent the weather was fine; 
but a great storm rising, flooding the roads between 
the two rivers, he could not make such a swift march 
as he had anticipated. While infantry might move, 
the roads were impassable to artillery. 

Confident and alert, on the morning of the 12th 
Grant moved out from Fort Henry, to meet an enemy 
of nearly twenty thousand men behind strong defenses. 
The weather was springlike and balmy. His men, 
unaccustomed to marching with heavy knapsacks, 
sweated and toiled over the roads, throwing away 
blankets and overcoats, as raw soldiers will. At noon 
they were within two miles of the enemy and began 
closing relentlessly around Fort Donelson. 



90 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



While Grant was directing this investment of the 
enemy, he received an order from General Halleck to 
" strengthen the land side of Fort Henry and transfer 
guns to resist a land attack." This illustrates the 
timidity of many Union generals, when compared with 
Grant's indomitable courage and confidence. 

To understand the merits of his final victory, the 
conditions under which the battle began must be men- 
tioned. The little army of fifteen thousand men un- 
der Grant were raw soldiers ; only those that had been 
with him at Belmont had ever been in battle. Fort 
Donelson was very strong. It occupied the end of a 
high ridge, protected by Hickman Creek on the left 
and the Cumberland River in the rear. Seventeen 
heavy guns were mounted on this fort, and there were 
thirty-eight field pieces of artillery for general de- 
fense. Around this, in semicircular form, was a three- 
mile line of rifle pits and intrenchments, protected 
from approach by abattis (fallen trees with the 
branches pointing outward) supplemented by dense 
tangled woods ; and behind these defenses were twenty 
thousand men. One man behind breastworks is reck- 
oned as being equal to five men attacking from out- 
side. 

Think, then, of the confidence and courage of 
Grant, beginning the investment of this stronghold 
with an army of only fifteen thousand ! 

At the gray of dawn on the 13th Grant's little army 
moves into position. Sharpshooters seek places in 
tree-tops, or behind rocks or ridges, within long rifle 
range, to shoot, annoy, and hinder the enemy. Skir- 



UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER GRANT 91 



mishers advance to find out where the enemy is lurking. 
Behind them the Union batteries follow to find good 
positions from which to reach the enemy with shot and 
shell. Behind these the infantry regiments with col- 
ors flying move into place. The sharp crack of the 
sharpshooters' rifles now begins. The pop, pop, pop, 
of the skirmishers is heard; then one battery after an- 
other opens fire on the enemy. 

Along the line, from point to point, rides the in- 
domitable but quiet general. He likes to see things 
for himself. He gave his orders in conversational 
tones. His aides were little more than messengers for 
conveying his orders to distant points. There was 
no military splendor about his dress; he wore a bat- 
tered hat, his trousers were tucked in his boots, and 
none of his soldiers were more muddy than he. His 
horse was always a good one; it was his one luxury. 
General C. F. Smith, an old soldier, commanded the 
left of the Union line. McClernand's division par- 
tially encircled the right ; he had not men enough, how- 
ever, to encircle the enemy from the river, and it was 
Grant's design to capture the Confederate army as 
well as his defenses. The Union line was, at best, a 
slender one. 

On the afternoon of the 13th, while the army under 
Grant was taking positions around the Confederate 
intrenchments, the thermometer went down, a winter 
storm of rain and snow and sleet set in, and a bitter 
northwest wind made the poor soldiers who had 
thrown away their blankets and overcoats on the 
march, regret their folly. But a common thought and 



92 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



courage animated the little army. They were in the 
flush of an exalted heroism, which makes raw soldiers 
the equal of veterans. It was this spirit that helped 
them undauntedly to face cold, hunger, and storm, as 
well as the enemy. 

A terrible night followed; no fires could be permit- 
ted, as it would discover to the enemy tlieir locations 
and draw the fire of their guns. They had no tents, 
and lay on the bare ground, shivering with cold, dur- 
ing the long, bitter night. 

Up to this time there had been but little fighting. 
During the night Foote's fleet of gunboats steamed up 
the river, and with the dawn Grant confidently ordered 
the attack to begin. The plan of the battle was for the 
troops to hold the enemy within his lines and, if possi- 
ble, the navy was to dismount and silence the artil- 
lery. 

Foote steamed to within four hundred yards of the 
rebel fort and, holding his boats in the swift current, 
opened a terrific fire upon the fort. The fort bravely 
answered. For an hour and a half the rain of shot 
and shell continued. The enemy's fire was slackening, 
when suddenly two of Foote's gunboats w^ere dis- 
abled, Foote himself was wounded, and the fleet 
dropped down stream out of range of the Confederate 
fire. 

Grant had been observing the attack from the shore, 
and saw that it had failed. The situation did not look 
favorable, but his confidence did not falter. The 
enemy were jubilant and telegraphed to Jefferson Davis 
that they had w^on a great victory. 



UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER GRANT 93 



Meanwhile, Lew Wallace with two thousand five 
hundred men had come from Fort Henry to take part 
in the fight. He was put in the center, between Mc- 
Clernand and Smith. This enabled the former to ex- 
tend his line of men to the river. 

During the day there was but little actual fighting 
of the land forces except an attempt by General Mc- 
Clernand to capture a rebel battery that had been an- 
noying him. He made this attack without orders, and 
failed to capture the enemy's guns. 

The sun went down on the night of the 14th, leav- 
ing the little army under Grant with a gloomy outlook. 
The attack of the navy had failed, and the intrepid 
general was debating with himself if it were not best 
to bring up tents and begin intrenching for a siege. 

Early on the morning of the 15th he got a note 
from Foote requesting to see him on board of his flag- 
ship, saying he had been injured in the fight of the 
previous day and could not come himself. 

Up to this time, though there had been a constant 
exchange of shot and shell, there had been no fighting 
of infantry in line. This was soon changed. The 
chances for success against the outnumbering foe 
w^ould have looked doubtful to a veteran soldier. 

While Grant was absent, the enemy massed ten 
thousand men on the thin lines of the Union right. 
The reveille was just sounding. Not a company of 
McClernand's men had fallen into line. Suddenly 
there were shots from his pickets, who fired and fled. 
Regiments formed; mounted officers summoned their 
men with loud commands ; there was a sharp crack of 



94 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



rifles and volleys, and the woods rang with the crash 
of musketry. The attack at first fell on Oglesby's men 
on the extreme Union right, but he stood fast. The 
Confederate cavalry was trying to get in their rear, 
but they clung to their ground. Then the attack be- 
came general on the right. The clangor of muskets 
rang through the forest like ten thousand boilers being 
pounded by a million of steel rods. Men fell by the 
scores. John A. Logan, raging like a lion, held his 
regiment in line till it could endure no longer and gave 
way. 

Hard pressed, McClernand sent to Lew Wallace for 
help. His soldiers had clung to their colors, but were 
disorganized and were falling back. In the midst of 
the confusion an officer rode down the road, shouting 
" All is lost ; save yourselves ! " 

General Grant, returning from the interview with 
Foote, was met by one of his staff, white with fear 
and excitement, who told him of the disaster that had 
befallen the right wing of his army. 

Grant rode forward to the scene, cool and self-pos- 
sessed. When he reached Wallace and McClernand 
they confirmed and explained the intelligence that he 
had already received. There was no doubt but that 
he understood the full significance of the repulse and 
disaster. It was a new test of his courage and ability 
to command men. At the intelligence his face slightly 
flushed and his hand tightened on some papers which 
he held. Then, in his ordinary calm, level tones, he 
said : " The position must be retaken. Retire your 



UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER GRANT 95 



men to the heights and intrench. I will order an at- 
tack on the left." And then he rode away. 

Finding some of his men were talking excitedly, he 
reined up and listened. " These rebs," said one, 

are going to put up a big all-day fight ; they have got 
their knapsacks full of rations ! " " Bring one to me," 
said the general. He examined it, and said decisively, 
" The enemy are trying to escape ! Fill up your cart- 
ridge boxes and get into line ! " This he repeated to 
officers and men as he rode to the left. 

To Colonel Webster of his staff he said, " Some of 
our men are badly shaken, but the Confederates must 
be more so ; for they have tried to cut their way out. 
If we can attack before they distribute their forces the 
day is ours." 

He hurried to the left and gave instructions to the 
veteran General Smith to assault as a diversion in aid 
of the assault about to be made on the right. 

General Smith threw out a heavy line of skirmishers 
and, forming his lines, advanced. The enemy, on 
account of the ground, could concentrate a double fire 
on the advancing column. General Smith, erect and 
soldierly, rode at the head of his men as though on 
parade. One of his men afterwards said, " I was 
weak in the knees and scared out of my boots ; but I 
saw the General with his white mustache over his 
shoulder, and I went on! " They left a trail of dead 
behind them. When his men faltered before the mur- 
derous fire, the general put his cap on the point of his 
sword, exclaiming : " No flinching ! Come on, men ! 



96 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Here's the way!" Up the hill he rode amid shriek 
of shot and bullets. His men tore away the abattis 
and swarmed up the fort. Four regiments planted 
their colors upon the breastworks, while the enemy 
scrambled out and ran. All efforts to dislodge our 
men failed. 

On the right the Union soldiers had re-formed their 
lines. On learning of the success of the attack, just 
detailed, on the left under General Smith, Grant or- 
dered an advance by Lew Wallace and McClernand 
on the right. This order was executed and, by night- 
fall, the ground lost to the enemy in the morning was 
regained. 

The Confederates, finding that the Union army had 
not only retaken the ground lost in the morning but 
had advanced their lines beyond, were cowed and dis- 
heartened. 

Another morning dawned ; the Union army was 
forming for a final attack, when a single bugle rang 
out and a flag of truce appeared. The Confederates 
during the night had met in council and decided to sur- 
render. 

Floyd, who was first in command, was under an 
indictment at Washington for complicity in an em- 
bezzlement of public funds. As Secretary of W^ar 
under Buchanan he had traitorously sent arms from 
Northern arsenals to the South, and had so distributed 
the army that they would be of little use in case of 
war. He feared to surrender, so he resigned his com- 
mand to General Pillow and, during the night, escaped 
with his Virginia regiment across the river. Pillow 



UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER GRANT 97 



in turn resigned and got away, leaving General Buck- 
ner in command. 

While the Union army was preparing for a final as- 
sault, a note came from General Buckner proposing an 
armistice and the appointment of commissioners to 
make terms of surrender. 

General Grant's reply was : " No terms except im- 
mediate unconditional surrender can be accepted. I 
propose to move immediately upon your works." 

The rebel general returned a reply, accepting what 
he termed the " unchivalrous terms." 

That day General Grant reported to Halleck, 
"We have taken Fort Donelson and from 12,000 to 
15,000 prisoners, including Generals Buckner and 
Bushrod Johnson; also about 20,000 stands of arms, 
forty -eight pieces of artillery, seventeen heavy guns, 
from 2,000 to 4,000 horses, and a large quantity of 
commissary stores." 

This victory was a staggering blow to the Confed- 
erates and its moral effect on the Union cause was 
immense. When the news flashed over the land many 
considered it the downfall of the Confederacy. They 
began to inquire, " Who is this general who fights 
and wins great battles ? " 

There was at this time a certain amount of jeal- 
ousy among Grant's superiors. Halleck claimed 
credit for the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, 
while McClernand claimed that he had done most of 
the fighting. Halleck thanked every one concerned 
except Grant for the victory. 

Secretary of War Stanton, however, saw clearly 



98 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



where the credit belonged. He wrote a letter to 
Horace Greeley, saying: "The glory of our recent 
victories belongs to the brave officers and soldiers that 
fought the battles. No share belongs to me. What, 
under the blessing of Providence, I conceive to be 
the true organization of victory and military com- 
bination to end the war was declared in a few words 
by General Grant's message to General Buckner, ' I 
propose to move immediately on your works.' " 

In spite of detractors, this letter fixed the fame of 
" Unconditional Surrender Grant " in the minds of 
the public; though, as we have seen, Halleck, in ma- 
neuvering for fame, gave credit to all concerned but 
the real general who had achieved the great results 
by his indomitable spirit. He sent congratulations 
to Commodore Foote and to General Hunter in 
Kansas; had asked Stanton to make General Smith 
a major-general; but had not sent one word of con- 
gratulations to the real hero who planned and fought 
the battle, and gained the victory. 

He possibly believed that it meant the end of the 
rebellion, as many did at that time, and did not want 
Grant to become a national hero. That he claimed 
the lion's share of this great victory, the plans for 
which he had reluctantly consented to, is shown by 
the telegraph dispatch which he sent to Washington, 
" Give me command in the West. I ask this in re- 
turn for Forts Henry and Donelson." 

Grant was made a major-general, for the Secre- 
tary of War and the President were not blind to 
Grant's part in the triumph of our arms. 



CHAPTER X 



THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 

The fall of Donelson gave to the Union full posses- 
sion of the Tennessee River, and divided the armies 
of Johnston and Beauregard. At one blow their net- 
work of strategy had been broken. Grant believed 
that this opened the way for the advance of the Union 
armies all over the Southwest. His opinion, as ex- 
pressed in after years, was, that if a general who 
would have taken the responsibility had been in com- 
mand of all the troops west of the Alleghenies, he 
could have marched to Chattanooga, Corinth, Mem- 
phis, and Vicksburg with the troops we then had. 

In his eagerness to take advantage of the divided 
Confederates, Grant telegraphed to Halleck that, if 
not ordered to the contrary, he would go to Nash- 
ville, whither he had just sent General Nelson with 
his troops to meet General Buell, who was marching 
on that city from the east. Upon this Halleck 
charged Grant with absence from his command with- 
out leave and virtually placed him under arrest by 
the order : " You will place General Smith in com- 
mand and remain at Fort Henry. Why do you not 
obey my orders to report strength and position of 
your command ? " 

Grant, deeply hurt, replied : " I have averaged 

99 



loo A LIFE OF GRANT 



writing more than once a day since leaving Cairo to 
keep you informed of my position, and it is no fault 
of mine if you have not received my letters. Be- 
lieving that there are enemies between you and my- 
self who are trying to impair my usefulness, I re- 
spectfully ask to be relieved from further duty in 
the department." In reply General Halleck repeated 
that Grant had not stated the number and position of 
his command. Grant in reply wrote : " You had a 
better chance of knowing my strength while sur- 
rounding Donelson than I had. Troops were report- 
ing daily by your orders. ... I renew my ap- 
plication to be relieved from further duty." 

On March nth. General Halleck got the prize that 
he desired, the command of the Western armies. His 
ambition had been gratified. 

Lincoln's keen eye was, however, observant of the 
fact that the man who had won the most substantial 
victory in the West was under arrest, and kept from 
duty. He ordered an investigation. 

Halleck at once changed front. Was it because he 
feared an investigation that he wrote to General 
Grant, " You cannot be relieved of your command. 
. . . I wish you, as soon as your new army is in 
the field, to assume the immediate command and lead 
it to new victories " ? He hastened then to write to 
the War Department : " Grant has made the proper 
explanations and has been directed to resume his com- 
mand in the field. There has never been any want 
of military subordination on the part of General 
Grant." Grant was grateful, for he did not know 



THE BATTLE OF SHILOH loi 



that Lincoln had ordered an inquiry before Halleck 
had changed his mind. Thus ended for a time the 
attempt of General Halleck to subordinate Grant and 
to destroy his reputation and his usefulness. 

On the nth of March, Grant took command of his 
army. Finding two of its divisions at Savannah, and 
three at Pittsburg Landing, nine miles apart and di- 
vided by a river, he hastened to unite them at Pitts- 
burg Landing. General Smith, Grant's predecessor, 
had selected this place, not as a battle ground, but as a 
convenient point from which to attack Corinth, twenty 
miles from Pittsburg Landing. It was Grant's custom 
to spend the day at Pittsburg Landing and return at 
night to Savannah, where he expected to meet General 
Buell, who was within a few days' march of that place. 

The armies under Beauregard and Johnston that 
had been almost hopelessly divided by Grant's vic- 
tory at Donelson, had been united at Corinth. 
Knowing that Buell was marching to form a junc- 
tion with Grant's army, they determined to attack 
him before this could be effected. 

On the 5th of April, under command of A. S. 
Johnston, the Confederates arrived within two miles 
of the Union army at Pittsburg Landing, and were 
ready to attack on the coming morning. 

The position of Grant's army was, on the whole, 
well chosen. It lay upon a V-shaped peninsula. 
The right arm of this V, two or three miles in length, 
was formed by Snake and Owl Creeks, and its left by 
the Tennessee River and Lick Creek. The ground 
within this V was undulating table-land, rising from 



102 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



the Tennessee about one hundred feet and covered 
with thick underbrush and tall trees, with here and 
there a clearing. Along the lower left arm of this 
V, formed by the Tennessee, the ground is broken 
into abrupt ravines ; while at Lick Creek, which forms 
its upper part, there is a range of hills sloping toward 
the battle-field. 

The Union army, as I have elsewhere said, was 
formed across the top of this V-shaped peninsula. 
Three brigades, under General W. T. Sherman, filled 
the space between Owl Creek and to and beyond a 
log building known as Shiloh Church, which stood 
on a ridge dividing the waters of Snake and Lick 
Creeks. On Sherman's left was Brigadier-General 
Prentiss's division of seven regiments, all green men, 
and one of his regiments was without ammunition 
(powder and bullets) ; at the extreme left were three 
regiments of Sherman's division under Colonel 
Stuart. In the rear of this first line, and a half a 
mile from the center, was IMajor-General McCler- 
nand's division, with General Hurlbut's in rear of 
the left center. In rear of all these was General W. 
H. L. Wallace. 

There were no defenses of any kind. Grant had 
twice beaten, with equal or inferior numbers, armies 
behind intrenchments and was, no doubt, inclined to 
believe that artificial defenses made new men cow- 
ardly. He had, however, instructed his engineer to 
lay out a line of defenses, but that ofificer reported 
that they must be made in rear of the encampment, 
which would be too far away from either creek or 



THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 103 



from the Tennessee River to be easily supplied with 
water; and in battle the water would be in the hands 
of the enemy. We believe, however, that Grant was 
over-confident; that he expected to attack rather than 
be attacked by the enemy. 

On the morning of the 5th Grant had written to 
General Buell from Savannah, five miles on the river 
from Pittsburg Landing, " Your dispatch received. 
I will be here to meet you to-morrow." Sherman 
informed him the same morning, " All quiet along 
my lines," and a little later, I do not apprehend any- 
thing like an attack on our position." Yet at that 
very time the Confederate army of 40,000 men was 
within two miles of the Union army, and ready to 
strike. 

Grant was at breakfast, when he heard the sound 
of cannonading. His leg and foot were bandaged 
and in great pain from a sprained ankle, caused by 
his horse's slipping and falling on him. 

" That's cannon," said one of his staff. 
Sounds like it," said Grant, still eating his break- 
fast. 

"Where is it?" 

" That's what I am trying to make out," said 
Grant, listening intently as he ate. 

Sending immediate word to Buell that on account 
of heavy firing at Pittsburg Landing he could not 
meet him as agreed, but requesting him to hurry his 
march, he said to his staff, " Gentlemen, it is time 
we were going." Then, quietly ordering the horses 
to the boat, he limped painfully to the landing. 



104 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



He was ashore at the fall of the gang-plank, was 
helped to his horse, and riding at a break-neck speed 
was off to the sound of battle. 

Let us turn to the scene of the conflict. 

A little after 5 o'clock in the morning, the quick 
pop, pop, pop of the Union pickets' firing told of the 
advance of the Confederates. The latter soon struck 
a reconnoitering party, which broke at the first assault 
of the enemy, but rallied and returned fire while falling 
back to the main lines of the Union army. 

To avoid a deep ravine, the enemy followed the 
level land on which a road forked, right and left, near 
Shiloh Church. This brought them to a weak part 
in our line between Sherman and the right of Pren- 
tiss, whose front was formed by one brigade thrown 
out nearly a mile in advance. There is evidence that 
Prentiss was rash and over-confident, but none that 
he was surprised, as has sometimes been said. 

With yells and shouts of exultation, the Confed- 
erates rushed upon Prentiss's lines and steadily drove 
them back to their camp. Here the enemy's advance 
was checked by a line of men drawn up in front of 
their camp. These, from behind logs and bales of 
hay, delivered a deadly fire which drove the Confed- 
erates back. The desperate nature of the fighting 
here is shown by the fact that the Sixth Mississippi 
afterwards reported that they lost three hundred 
killed and wounded out of an efi^ective force of three 
hundred and twenty men. 

The long roll sounds along the whole line. Sher- 
man's men form, some of them trying to eat morsels 



THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 105 



of their breakfast as they adjust their belts and cart- 
ridge boxes. With coolness and insight for which 
he is afterwards known, the general forms his lines 
to receive the enemy, sending word to McClernand 
to hurry up his men to fill the gap between his lines 
and Prentiss. His men are raw recruits and a few 
regiments break under the terrible fire, but he in- 
spirits them by his example and others take their 
place. The enemy comes on with furious yells and 
shouts, determined to retrieve the disaster and dis- 
grace of Donelson. Sherman, though wounded, suc- 
cessfully resists the first attack and the enemy have 
failed in the surprise on which they had counted. 

It was about 8 o'clock when Grant, spattered with 
mud and his horse flecked with foam, rode up, re- 
turned Sherman's salute, and said, " How goes the 
battle. General ? " " It has been a very heavy at- 
tack, but we have held our own," was his reply. 

" I have ordered General Lew W allace to march 
to your right." 

" I will look out for him ; I think we may need 
him," said the cool old soldier. 

Grant rode away to visit Prentiss and other parts 
of the line of battle on the left. 

No pen can describe the conflict of that day. Over 
muddy roads and the checkerboard-like clearings and 
tangled thickets and abrupt ravines, the battle raged 
from morning until darkness fell. 

Grant, knowing that the enemy were paying dearly 
for their successes, rode his lines all day. Wherever 
the battle was the fiercest, the Union lines wavering. 



io6 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



there was he, advising his generals, rallying and en- 
couraging his men. 

Steadily the Union lines, contesting every foot of 
ground, were pressed back towards the landing. As 
they were forced slowly back there were yells of at- 
tack and answering cheers of defiance. Albert Sid- 
ney Johnston, the Confederate general committed the 
duties of his headquarters to General Beauregard, and 
led his men. 

About II o'clock Sherman fell back and took up 
a position on McClernand's right. His division was 
reduced, his list of killed and wounded was large, he 
had lost important positions, and the Confederates 
had captured some of his artillery; but he had gained 
precious time. He still rallied his men and held them 
to the terrible work with iron resolution. 

In the afternoon notable incidents occurred. The 
rebel leader, Albert Sidney Johnston, while leading a 
charge in person fell, mortally wounded, in front of 
Hurlbut's division. On the extreme Union left 
Stewart's brigade bravely held its ground against 
fierce attacks by superior numbers until two o'clock, 
but was finally driven back. 

By two o'clock Grant began to show anxiety. His 
men were fighting in independent bodies difficult to 
bring into order. Lew Wallace had failed him; 
Buell's expected vanguard had not arrived. 

Grant had instructed Prentiss and General W. H. 
L. Wallace, who held an important position on the 
Union left, to hold their ground at all hazards. But 
the forces on their right and left were driven back, 



THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 107 



leaving their flanks exposed. The enemy charged, 
enveloped, and partially surrounded them. Wallace 
was wounded and Prentiss, with his two shattered 
divisions of 2,200 men was taken prisoner. It was 
past 5 o'clock in the afternoon of the long and bloody 
day. The gap left open by the capture of Prentiss 
seemed irreparable. The Union army was now a 
mile and more from where their lines were formed 
in the morning. 

Along the last line of hills that terminate with the 
river, a park of artillery had been landed. The ridge 
is nearly at right angles with the Tennessee River. 
Colonel Webster of Grant's staff got together artil- 
lerists and put them in charge of these guns. Here 
the Union army rested, their front protected by 
a ravine which could be swept by a cross fire from the 
gunboats. This checked the enemy until darkness. 
Wallace and Buell came. The day was saved. It 
had tested the manhood of both armies. Southern 
dash had been met by Northern endurance and pluck. 

Surprise has since been expressed by many that an 
army, the most of whom had never been in battle, 
should have fought so tenaciously and long, with such 
slightly connected formations, and in many cases in 
disorder. But they do not sufficiently estimate the 
miracle of confidence and courage that Grant's pres- 
ence gave to the fighting line that day. It was the 
man, his faith in his cause and in final victory, that 
infused confidence and courage into every part of the 
Union line. His determined persistency in the face of 
the terrible difficulties is expressed by an anecdote 



io8 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



which, whether it be true or not, shows his grim de- 
termination. It is said that upon his arrival General 
Buell said, General, what arrangements have you 
made for retreat in case of your defeat? " 

" There are the transports," said Grant, with a ges- 
ture towards them. 

" They won't carry more than ten thousand men," 
replied Buell. 

They will be all that's needed if I am whipped," 
he is said to have replied. 

A newspaper correspondent who was one of Grant's 
critics says : " The tremendous roar of battle to the 
left, momentarily nearer and nearer, told of an ef- 
fort to cut him off from the river and from retreat. 
Grant sat his horse, quiet, thoughtful, almost stolid. 
Said one to him, * Does not the prospect look 
gloomy ? ' * Not at all,' was the quiet reply. * They 
can't force our lines around these batteries to-night, — 
it is too late. Delays count everything with us. To- 
morrow we shall attack them with fresh troops and 
drive them, of course.' " The correspondent adds, " I 
was myself a listener to this conversation, and from 
it I can date the beginning of my belief in Grant's 
greatness." 

Before Beauregard had learned of Buell's arrival 
he had given orders withdrawing his troops from the 
fight for the night. 

That night the intrepid Union commander slept on 
some hay thrown down in the mud under a tree. It 
rained, and the chill of the morning hours caused 
him to move under the porch of a log hut in which 



THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 109 



wounded men had taken refuge. The sound of their 
cries and moans were more terrible for him to bear 
than the rain and the cold and he moved back to the 
protection of the tree again. Yet this sensitive and 
gentle man, who could not endure the cries of 
wounded men or the sight of blood, or even to see a 
dumb beast abused, could order columns of men re- 
lentlessly to the attack for the country he loved. 

Morning came and Grant, anxious for the attack, 
ordered every division to move up to the battle line. 
His voice was calm and his whole aspect breathed of 
confidence and courage. Where ordinary men would 
have planned to save themselves from further defeat, 
he was planning for victory. 

Buell's fresh men came up. The enemy, outnum- 
bered, fell back fighting, and at last retreated. The 
battle of Shiloh was over. The Confederates, who 
began the battle with such assurance of victory, were 
defeated. 

A new kind of commander had appeared; a man 
who fought almost against hope, and won victory in 
the face of despair. 



CHAPTER XI 



GRANT IN COMMAND OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
TENNESSEE 

The victory of Shiloh, like all great victories in 
war, left its sting as well as its sweets. The triumph 
of the Union arms upon that field cost a terrible 
sacrifice in human life; at many a hearthstone, North 
and South, there sat a Rachel weeping because her 
children were not. The nation was now beginning 
dimly to realize that the path to national triumph, 
for the restoration of the Union, must be a bloody 
one. Grant, who had at first thought the war would 
be short and sharp, but decisive, also realized after 
Shiloh, that it was to be long and sanguinary. 

Grant became the storm center when this conclu- 
sion was gradually reached by all classes. He was 
both abused and praised for his part in that victory. 
There was a class of men at the North at work as 
allies of the enemy, who took every occasion to dis- 
courage the vigorous prosecution of the v^ar. That 
part of the press sympathizing with this disloyal ele- 
ment, execrated him as a butcher, reckless of human 
life and suffering. Few knew that with all his iron 
resolution, he was a man of singular gentleness. 
General Buell, accused of purposely delaying his ar- 
rival at Shiloh, hinted at Grant's demoralization and 

no 



THE DEPARTMENT OF TENNESSEE in 



failure. Among other things Grant was accused of 
drunkenness. Lincoln, who saw more clearly than 
most men, was urged to remove him. He is said to 
have replied : — 

"No; I can't spare Grant; he fights." When they 
brought to Lincoln's notice the accusation that Grant 
was a drunkard, he knew that a man with such habits 
could not command men as Grant had, and in his 
humorous manner of exposing a sham or falsehood 
inquired : — 

" What kind of liquor does that Grant use? " 

" What do you want to know for? " 

" I want to send some of the brand to the rest of 
my generals to see if it will make them fight like 
Grant!" 

Grant, on his part, showed that he had learned a 
valuable lesson in war. He reported to Halleck that 
the enemy was again gathering in large numbers at 
Corinth and added, " I do not like to suggest, but it 
appears to me it would be demoralizing to our troops 
here to be forced to retire upon the opposite side of 
the river, and unsafe to remain on this side many 
weeks without large reinforcements." 

Halleck resolved to take the field in person to show 
how victories should be won, and gathered together 
an army of over a hundred thousand men. Grant 
was given command of the Army of the Tennessee, 
which formed the right wing of Buell's great army. 
But though he commanded the Army of the Tennes- 
see in name, he really had no command. Every sug- 
gestion he made was ignored. 



112 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



At last Halleck was ready for his grand advance 
against the Confederate army at Corinth. He moved 
slov^ly. To use the words of Sherman, an army of 
a hundred thousand bayonets " advanced with pick 
and shovel." With amusing caution, Halleck threw 
up intrenchments as he advanced slowly to Corinth, 
his instructions to Grant and to his other generals 
being to avoid any general engagement until reinforce- 
ments arrived. 

Grant was fretted by this foolish caution and snail 
pace. He said: "If I were in command I would 
push on and win ; I believe in an aggressive cam- 
paign." 

Halleck was thirty-seven days marching twenty 
miles! He wanted reinforcements, for he was going 
to fight a great battle. Grant believed the Confed- 
erates were leisurely leaving Corinth with all their 
stores and munitions of -^ar. Finally, Halleck 
reached Corinth and took possession of an abandoned 
city with its empty rifle pits and warehouses, without 
an enemy in sight! He covered his chagrin with 
brave words, but his officers and soldiers laughed in 
their sleeves. 

Mr. Lincoln and the Secretary of War began to 
have suspicions of the real fact, that Halleck was an 
office soldier and that his genius fell quite short of 
his lofty pretensions. 

Grant's position had, meanwhile, become unbear- 
able. Orders were given to the army he commanded 
without consulting him, and the officers at head- 
quarters turned their backs on him. Determined to 



THE DEPARTMENT OF TENNESSEE 113 



throw up his command, he obtained permission to 
visit Washington. 

Sherman recognized Grant's great qualities as a 
soldier and hearing that he was going to leave, 
hastened to his headquarters. He was dismayed to 
find him striking tents and packing his baggage ready 
to go. 

What does this mean, Grant ? " 
" I am going to leave." 

" Blame it ! Don't you know when you are well 
off, Grant ? " said Sherman. " This Western army is 
yours; the men know you and you know them. Stop 
right here. Halleck is going to leave for the East 
soon." General Grant saw the wisdom of his friend's 
advice and stayed. 

On the loth of June, Halleck restored Grant to his 
separate command and allowed him to move his head- 
quarters to Memphis. He still continued to play 
second to Halleck's first, but he was free from other 
annoying humiliations. 

Halleck finally went East, as Sherman had pre- 
dicted. He was given the office of commander-in- 
chief in name, but in reality was the chief-of-stafif, or 
military adviser to the President. 

Grant was placed in command of the " Army of 
the Tennessee " again, with his headquarters at 
Corinth, but the huge army of 120,000 men which 
Halleck had gathered together was dispersed by him 
to various parts. Grant believed they should be held 
together for united action against the enemy in an 
aggressive campaign. 



114 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Grant had now the difficult task of guarding the 
territory acquired by the fall of Corinth without suf- 
ficient men to protect its different points; a long line 
to protect against a vigilant and active foe. He was 
in a country, you must understand, where the people 
were unfriendly to the Union cause, who constantly 
gave help and information to the enemy. On the 
other hand. Grant was obliged to get his information 
through his scouts, or by advancing in force with 
cavalry or infantry, or by questioning prisoners cap- 
tured from the enemy. In an enemy's country, where 
the people are hostile, as they were there, spies and 
the cavalry were its eyes. The Confederates had 
eyes wherever there was a citizen. 

The Confederate generals. Price and Van Dorn, 
were in Grant's front, one on his right and the other 
on his left. In the middle of September they at- 
tempted to join their forces, for the purpose of 
attacking the Union army. In order to form this 
junction of their forces. Price seized a little village 
twenty-one miles southeast from Corinth, called luka. 

Grant, to prevent the junction of the forces of the 
foe, acted with his usual promptness and energy. 
He ordered General Rosecrans and General Ord, 
each of whom had about 8,500 men, to make an at- 
tack on opposite sides of the town at the same time. 
This concerted movement failed. Rosecrans was 
furiously attacked when two miles south of the town, 
but Ord, owing to a strong north wind, did not hear 
the sound of the conflict, and hence did not attack 
in time to call off the attention of the enemy. He 



THE DEPARTMENT OF TENNESSEE 115 



received the news during the night, however, but 
reached luka to find that the Confederates had es- 
caped. They finally succeeded in passing around the 
rear of Rosecrans and joined Van Dorn, in the latter 
part of December. 

Grant soon found that another attack was to be 
expected, this time on Corinth. Rosecrans held the 
place at this time with about 23,000 men. Ord was 
at Bolivar with about 12,000, and there were a few 
men at Grant's headquarters at Jackson. 

General Van Dorn commanded the Confederate 
army of about 22,000 men. His plan was to attack 
the Union army under Rosecrans, cut them off, then 
turn upon Ord at Bolivar and upon Grant's head- 
quarters at Jackson, then to overrun West Tennessee 
and establish communications with Bragg. 

October the 3d he attacked Rosecrans at Corinth, 
and forced him back into his inner defenses. That 
night the enemy went into bivouac within a short 
distance of the Union men. They were jubilant. 
They expected with the dawn to begin the fight and 
achieve an easy victory. 

But their plans failed. Their attack was without 
that unity which is needful for success. They 
fought, however, with great bravery and forced the 
Union troops back into the city, but were here 
brought under the fire of the Union artillery and 
were compelled to get out with terrible loss. The 
battle did not last long; but Rosecrans took 2,263 
prisoners and reported that the enemy's killed was 
1,423. He failed, however, to follow Grant's in- 



ii6 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



structions, twice repeated, to follow up the enemy at 
once. The Union loss had been but about one-half 
that of the enemy, and their demoralization was less, 
as they had fought from behind breastworks. 

Though Grant had repeated his order, after the 
battle began, to start after the beaten and retreating 
enemy at once, Rosecrans rested until noon of the 
4th, and when finally started in pursuit, took the wrong 
road. 

Grant knew that under such circumstances of de- 
lay, Rosecrans would meet a larger force than his 
own, for the enemy had had time to get reinforce- 
ments. So he ordered the pursuit to be discontinued. 
He was much dissatisfied with Rosecrans for not 
obeying his orders, but gave him praise for the fight- 
ing he had done. 

He had directed the battle that had resulted in the 
enemy's defeat, but felt that he had not reaped the 
full fruits of it by reason of Rosecrans' failure to 
obey his instructions. President Lincoln wrote him 
a letter of congratulation, and once more popular 
attention was turned to the soldier who had won de- 
cisive victories in the West. 

This battle, with other movements, was important 
in preventing the Confederates from uniting with 
General Bragg's army, and Tennessee was, for a time, 
safe from similar attacks. This defeat of the enemy 
was a much more important event than was realized 
at the North. 

Jefferson Davis, on account of Van Dorn's failure, 
appointed J. C. Pemberton a lieutenant-general, and 



THE DEPARTMENT OF TENNESSEE 117 



placed him in command at Jackson on the 14th of 
October, 1862. This was the same Pemberton 
whom we have mentioned in preceding pages as a 
lieutenant in the Mexican War. 

In October, Grant was appointed to command the 
" Department of Tennessee." He began his duties 
under favorable circumstances. The enemy had been 
defeated, his own troops were in excellent condition 
and recruited by new men. He desired to move 
against the enemy by making an advance through the 
state of Mississippi, in the rear of Vicksburg. He 
suggested to Halleck that all the railroads about Cor- 
inth be destroyed and an advance made with his army 
southward from Grand Junction along the east banks 
of the Yazoo River. 

General Halleck gave his approval, and on the 4th 
of November Grant began his movement, with his 
army well officered and equipped. They were ac- 
customed to camp life and believed in their general. 
It was an army that he had fashioned with his own 
hands and had led to victory. 



CHAPTER XII 



TRYING TO REACH VICKSBURG 

ViCKSBURG, occupying as it did the first high land 
near the Mississippi River below Memphis, was of 
first importance to the Confederates. Standing upon 
an almost inaccessible plateau, two hundred feet above 
the river, it was surrounded by a vast network of 
bayous and marshes, and rendered almost impreg- 
nable by formidable artificial and natural defenses. 

If my young readers will take down their maps 
they will see that Grant, by his victories at Forts 
Henry and Donelson, had cleared that river of the 
enemy from the head waters as far as Vicksburg. 
The capture of New Orleans, meanwhile, had given 
to the Union the mouth of the river; but the Confed- 
erates still held all that lay between Vicksburg and 
Port Hudson, a distance of nearly two hundred miles. 
This gave them free access to the territory w^est of 
the river, with the great army supplies of Louisiana 
and Texas. It also gave them about their only re- 
maining communications with the outside world. 

My readers will understand from this careful state- 
ment that Grant was at this time fighting for the 
undisturbed control of the Alississippi from source to 
sea. 

To give anything but an outline of his first at- 

ii8 



TRYING TO REACH VICKSBURG 119 



tempt to capture Vicksburg might be tedious and of 
but little interest to my young readers, consequently 
a brief description will be given, so that they may 
in part understand Grant's courage and persever- 
ance under difficulties and trials that well might 
have discouraged even a strong heart like his; for it 
is important for them to know that great success does 
not come to blunderers nor to those without faith 
and courage. 

The plan for his first attempt at opening the Mis- 
sissippi was as follows: Grant in person was to 
move from Grand Junction, while Sherman came out 
from Memphis to join him on the Tallahatchie. 

The expedition started as planned. On the 26th 
of November, 1862, Grant crossed the Tallahatchie, 
with his cavalry and infantry, Sherman's men fol- 
lowing closely, and the enemy falling back as they 
advanced. 

He had reached within eighteen miles of Grenada 
Avhen he found the difficulty of a further advance 
so great that he changed his plan, sending Sherman 
down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Yazoo 
River to attack Vicksburg, while he cooperated with 
him. His generosity in assigning to another the more 
brilliant part of a campaign was characteristic of 
Grant. 

In a week the expedition started. On the i8th of 
December, Grant received a dispatch from the Presi- 
dent expressing the wish that McClernand with his 
corps should join the expedition, superseding Sher- 
man in command. Grant, though not relishing the 



120 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



order, at once sent dispatches announcing it to both 
McClernand and Sherman. Though both of these 
dispatches were captured, a letter by mail reached 
McClernand, who at once went to the scene of ac- 
tion and took command. 

Placing another officer over his friend Sherman 
was a bitter mouthful to Grant, but there was justice 
in Lincoln's command, for McClernand had, with the 
President's consent, raised thirty thousand men for 
that service. He was a splendid recruiting officer, 
though not always obedient to orders nor a skillful 
general. 

Grant, feeding his army by a single line of rail- 
road, and a very poor one at that, began to fear that 
it would be unsafe for him to advance further into 
the enemy's country. His fears were soon confirmed 
when one of his cavalry officers came in with the in- 
formation that he had crossed the rear of a rebel 
column moving northward; -Grant quickly sprang to 
his feet, seated himself by the side of his telegraph 
operator, and began with great rapidity to write 
orders to all commanders northward to strengthen 
their posts and hold them at all hazards. 

About the 15th the Confederate general Forrest 
cut Grant's line of communications, while at the same 
time General Van Dorn, with over three thousand 
cavalry, passed around his left flank and captured 
Holly Springs, which was Grant's secondary base of 
supplies. A negligent and cowardly colonel in com- 
mand surrendered the place with a million dollars' 
worth of supplies without firing a gun. 



TRYING TO REACH VICKSBURG 121 



Grant was profoundly alarmed. He was in the 
enemy's country, with his communications cut two 
hundred miles away from his base. It was a dis- 
heartening blow, and the proper thing for him to do, 
according to military precedents, was to surrender 
his army. But Grant was never a stickler for prece- 
dents, and danger brought out his wonderful self- 
reliance and courage. The rebel people that he met 
were rejoiced. 

" How will you feed your army now ? " they said. 

Their rejoicing turned to sorrow when Grant sent 
out a swarm of foragers and collected their corn, and 
wheat, and other food for his army. He was sur- 
prised at the ease with which, for ten days, he was 
able to feed them on the country. He afterwards 
said, had he known how easy it was to feed an army 
in this manner, he would not have turned back, but 
would have gone to Vicksburg by that route. He 
thoughtfully took note - of the circumstance, which 
afterward bore fruit in his final campaign against the 
rebel stronghold. 

Grant fell back on Holly Springs. It was his first 
retreat, and as my readers already know that it was 
a superstition with him, even when a lad, never to 
turn back when starting for a place, they can imagine 
that it was painful. 

Reaching the Tallahatchie River, he telegraphed to 
Halleck for permission to join the Mississippi expe- 
dition. It w^as granted and Grant made his prepara- 
tions to take command in person. 

Sherman, meanwhile, was not aware of Grant's re- 



122 A LIFE OF GRANT 



treat, and had debarked his army on the east banks 
of the Yazoo River, on the swampy land at the foot 
of Walnut Hills. He had counted upon surprising 
the enemy, but was disappointed; the enemy were 
fully aware of their danger and were prepared to 
receive him. 

As he advanced over the swampy bottom land at 
the Walnut Hills, the enemy fled before him to their 
defenses. The Union troops were soon confronted 
by muddy bayous, passable in one direction only by 
narrow levees, and in another by a sand bar, where 
the foe could shoot them down as fast as they could 
set foot on it. The levees that had been built to keep 
out the Mississippi from their cornfields proved ex- 
cellent fortifications to keep out the Union invaders 
from Vicksburg. 

Blair's and De Courcey's brigades attacked the en- 
emy on the right and left. Over tangled abattis of 
Cottonwood, through the quicksands and the freezing 
w^aters of the ba3'0U, the brave men advanced, while 
the enemy met them with death-dealing cannon and 
rifle shots. They pierced two lines of the enemy's 
rifle pits and were brought to a halt only by their 
main works. The attack had failed because it was 
too much for human endeavor. Sherman had lost 
1,176 men in the encounter. 

This attack showed him that it was impracticable 
to capture the citadel in that manner, and he reem- 
barked his forces, steaming up the Yazoo, where he 
tied up at Milliken's Bend. There he found Mc- 
Clernand, who was to supersede him in command. 




A MARCH IN THE MUD. 



TRYING TO REACH VICKSBURG 123 



An expedition to x\rkansas Post was planned by 
McClernand and successfully executed and Fort Hind- 
man was captured and destroyed. 

For several reasons Grant resolved to take personal 
command of the expedition against Vicksburg. It 
was a fortunate decision for him and for his country, 
since it gave him new honors and wrote upon the 
pages of history one of the most instructive and bril- 
liant chapters recorded in war. 

It was characteristic of him that he spent no time 
in drilling his raw soldiers, believing that the best 
discipline they could have was in the field against the 
enemy. 

There is a loop in the Mississippi River, opposite 
Vicksburg, not unlike a narrow horseshoe, and enclos- 
ing a long peninsula like an index finger extended on 
the left hand, with the rest of its fingers closed. 
Vicksburg is on the opposite side of the river from 
this peninsula, opposite the nail of the finger. 

In his report Grant said, " I became satisfied that 
Vicksburg could only be turned from the south side." 

His first plan for accomplishing this was to finish 
an uncompleted canal across the base of this penin- 
sula. This was for the purpose of getting the trans- 
ports and gunboats down the river without passing 
the heavy guns of Vicksburg. 

General Grant did not have great faith in this plan, 
but, as the President showed much interest in it, he 
determined to give it a fair trial. 

On the 8th of March, when the canal was almost 
completed, a sudden rise in the river broke down the 



124 A LIFE OF GRANT 



dam which kept out the water at the northern end 
and flooded, not only the canal, but the peninsula, 
driving the troops engaged in its construction to the 
levees for safety. When the flood subsided the water, 
instead of running swiftly into and through this arti- 
ficial channel, was stagnant. The work of deepening 
it was resumed, but the rebel guns on the opposite side 
of the river had got the range of the working parties 
and the work was abandoned as a failure. 

There was, however, a network of bayous on the 
west side of the Mississippi, from one of which, known 
as Lake Providence, Grant tried to open a passage 
from the Tenas and the Washita, to the mouth of the 
Red River, and in this way to get in communication 
with Banks's army and with Farragut's gunboats. 

This plan was abandoned for a new plan, which 
was to open a safe way to below Vicksburg by means 
of a bayou known as the Yazoo Pass. This for a 
time, when opened, looked like a success ; but the vigi- 
lant enemy had established a fort on its shores, on land 
so low that troops could not be landed for attacking 
it. Fort Pemberton blocked the way and spoiled the 
enterprise. 

An attempt was then made to turn, or go around, 
Haines's Bluff on the Yazoo River, fifteen miles above 
Vicksburg. Just below Haines's Bluff is the mouth of 
Steel's Bayou, which, connecting with two other 
bayous, forms a passage to Sunflower. Could our 
gunboats and transports do this, they might go down 
the Yazoo, cut off reinforcements to Fort Pemberton, 
and get behind Vicksburg. 



TRYING TO REACH VICKSBURG 125 



The attempt was made with little steamers and gun- 
boats. But the branches of overhanging trees tore 
off their smokestacks and pilot-houses, the Confeder- 
ates obstructed the channel by falling trees and har- 
assed them with artillery and musketry; and finally 
by felling trees in their rear, made it doubtful if they 
could return. Sherman's men came to the rescue, but 
this expedition was also a failure. 

Grant's next attempt was to connect New Carthage, 
thirty-five miles below Vicksburg, with Milliken's 
Bend, twenty-five miles above; for he had now de- 
termined to throw his forces below Vicksburg. This 

cut off " for a time looked like a success ; but the 
treacherous Mississippi fell, and another failure was 
scored. 

It was Grant's dark hour. The North was not 
only anxious but fickle. There was a dark cloud of 
distrust, from which burst a storm of criticism. His 
failures, which I have briefly sketched, stirred to ac- 
tivity the enemies of the Union in the North. They 
raised a clamor to have the war stopped and assailed 
Grant with bitter invectives and slander. The public 
dissatisfaction was so great that it found utterance 
among those nearest the President. The Secretary 
of the Treasury sent a bitter letter from one of the 
most loyal Western journalists accusing Grant of gross 
misconduct, and added his own emphatic demand for 
Grant's removal. Even Grant's friend, Representative 
Washburn, almost turned against him. Mr. Lincoln, 
though sorely pressed, as well as impatient and dis- 
couraged, stood by Grant, saying, " No ; I like Grant, 



126 A LIFE OF GRANT 



and he shall have his chance!" Was ever faith so 
sorely tried and greatly justified? 

Grant heard the clamor, but v^ent about his work 
with the same patient and untiring industry. His fail- 
ures only stimulated him to greater efforts. To a 
friend calling on him he said, in his earnest, half-ab- 
stracted manner, as though in answer to his own 
thoughts as well as a general answer to the public clam- 
or, " Vicksburg can be taken. I shall give my days 
and nights to it and shall surely take it." 

A lady connected with the Sanitary Commission on 
board of Grant's headquarters boat at the celebration 
of Washington's birthday gave the following descrip- 
tion : " Grant sat, leaning on a table covered with 
maps, . . . wholly absorbed in contemplating the 
great work before him. He paid no attention to what 
was going on about him, neither did any one dare in- 
terrupt him. When the company retired we left him 
there still smoking and thinking." 

At one of the social gatherings he gave as a toast, 
while raising to his lips a glass of Mississippi water, 
" God gave us Lincoln and Liberty ; let us fight for 
both." 

His final plan was to have the gunboats run past 
the Confederate batteries of Vicksburg in the night, 
while he marched his army from Milliken's Bend to 
Grand Gulf on the Mississippi River and landed his 
army below Vicksburg. 

In our next chapter we shall see how he succeeded 
in this most wonderful military feat. 



CHAPTER XIII 



MARCHING AND BATTLING FOR VICKSBURG 

At ten o'clock on the night of the i6th of April, 
1863, Admiral Porter, with a fleet of seven iron-clads, 
with river steamers and barges, passed down the Mis- 
sissippi River. The night was dark and they were not 
discovered until opposite the town. Then the Con- 
federates kindled bonfires and fired buildings on the 
river banks, making it light as day. The fleet of iron- 
clads steamed boldly opposite the enemy, firing their 
heaviest guns, — under a converging fire from the 
enemy. But the flames died out and silence followed 
as the fleet passed below the enemy's gun fire. Though 
every transport had been struck, only one had been de- 
stroyed. The Union gunboats, steamers and barges 
had passed the dread batteries at Vicksburg, and the 
first part of Grant's plan was successfully accom- 
plished. In a few days he sent another fleet of six 
vessels past the Confederate batteries with equal suc- 
cess. 

His next move was to march the larger part of his 
army from Milliken's Bend to a point on the Missis- 
sippi below Vicksburg. He first rode over the route 
he wished his army to pass, and on the 20th of April, 
1863, the army began its march from Milliken's Bend 
to Carthage. 

127 



128 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



They moved light, only one tent being allowed to 
each company, one wall tent for each brigade head- 
quarters, and one for each division headquarters. 

Grant set an example for his men, carrying no other 
personal baggage than a tooth brush, and having no 
better accommodations for sleeping or eating than his 
private soldiers. IMud-spattered and grimy as any 
soldier in the ranks, his men loved him for his self- 
denial, speaking of him affectionately as " the old 
man." 

Grant deeply felt the necessity for victory at this 
time. The Eastern army had met with humiliating 
defeats and the people were disheartened. He must 
give the country successes. 

For the task before him he had about 45,000 men. 
The Confederates, under Pemberton, had about 80,000. 

To distract the attention of the enemy from his 
real purpose, which he had kept as secret as possible, 
Grant ordered Sherman to make a feint (make-believe 
attack) on Haines's Bluff at Vicksburg. Sherman, 
with a great parade of men and blowing of steam- 
boat whistles, made the attack, which alarmed and con- 
fused Pemberton. 

Grant's next step was to attempt the capture of 
Grand Gulf with the gunboats. The enemy had 
strong defenses and a heavy garrison there. Our gun- 
boats attacked, but failed. But the Union gunboats 
and transports ran the batteries. 

Grant, with characteristic decision, lost not a mo- 
ment in making new preparations, but promptly landed 
his troops at Hard Times, below Grand Gulf, marched 



BATTLING FOR VICKSBURG 129 

his men across a narrow peninsula opposite, and 
reached dry ground. He then sent this message to 
Halleck in Washington, " The army and transports 
are now below Grand Gulf. A landing will be ef- 
fected on the east banks of the river to-morrow. I 
feel that the battle is now more than half won." 

The entire night of the 29th he spent writing, with 
his own hand, the many and elaborate orders for the 
movements of his army on the morrow. The next 
morning two of his army corps landed at Bruins- 
burg, below Grand Gulf, and McClernand's command 
was hurried before daylight on its way to Port Gib- 
son. This was a little village from which radiated a 
number of roads like the spokes from the hub of a 
wheel and gave the enemy control of the roads to 
Grand Gulf. If captured, this place would be cut off 
from the rest of their army and be compelled to sur- 
render their fortifications. 

Port Gibson was encircled by rough ravines and 
tangled underbrush, which greatly assisted the Con- 
federates in its defense. On May ist McClernand's 
men began the fight. Grant, borrowing a horse, rode 
to the scene. He wrote from the field of battle to 
McPherson, "We are whipping them beautifully; 
hurry up the troops ! " He was so thoroughly ab- 
sorbed in directing the fight that he forgot himself 
and sat his horse where the bullets and shot flew so 
thickly that a regiment near him was ordered into a 
ravine for protection. 

McPherson coming up about noon, he sent him to 
strike the enemy in the rear; and then, seating him- 



I30 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



self on a log, began writing an order with a borrowed 
lead pencil, using his slouch hat for a desk. A great 
clamor of cheers and yells soon being heard in front, 
Grant looked up, saying, " That's AlcPherson and his 
men; he's started the rebels out of that ravine." 
Though reinforced from Vicksburg, the Confederates 
were soon whipped and on a retreat to Bayou Pierre, 
leaving several hundred prisoners behind. 

As Grant rode forward on his lean and scraggy 
borrowed horse, his soldiers gathered around with 
cheers, clamoring, " A speech, a speech ! " Grant re- 
plied. Soldiers, you have done well to-day, but you 
must do better to-morrow." 

The prospects even then to a less detennined and 
confident general would have looked anything but 
good. Several of his officers, to whom he had con- 
fided his plan of campaign, had protested against it, 
among them Sherman. He had great respect for 
Sherman and read his protest carefully, and then put 
it in his pocket without a word. 

He was in a hostile country, with a great river in 
his rear, and the enemy in his front with an army as 
large, if not larger, than his own. It was a country' 
easy to defend. The roads were mostly on top of 
ridges, with dense and tangled woods on each side. 
He had no trains to convey his ammunition or food, 
and so must obtain these necessities in the country they 
were to battle over. 

After the battle of Port Gibson, McClernand's corps 
went forward beyond the town, but was brought to a 
halt by the Bayou Pierre. The bridge over the bayou 



BATTLING FOR VICKSBURG 131 

had been burned to prevent pursuit. Tearing down 
buildings and fences for its construction, a new bridge 
was at once begun. Officers and soldiers labored so 
earnestly in this work that it was soon finished. Logan 
with two brigades, without waiting for its construc- 
tion, pushed forward to Hankerson Ferry over the 
Big Black River, fifteen miles northeast, and seized 
that bridge before the enemy could destroy it. 

Grant that night rode back to Grand Gulf, aban- 
doned by the enemy. For three nights he had not had 
his clothes off, had had no tent, had picked up his meals 
as he could. Now, on board of a gunboat, he got a 
bath and borrowed a change of clothing. With no 
other rest he sat down and gave detailed instructions 
to quartermasters, commissaries, captains of steamers 
and generals of his army ; also for the construction of 
a road. Then he wrote to Halleck, making an elab- 
orate report of what he had done, and closed by say- 
ing: . . . "If all promises as favorable hereafter 
as it does now ... (I shall) not stop until 
Vicksburg is in our possession." He crowded into 
these few hours an amount of work that is almost be- 
yond belief. Nothing was too minute, nothing too 
stupendous, for his mind and courage to grasp. Then, 
after midnight, he mounted his horse and, accompanied 
by a small escort, rode back to Hankerson Ferry. 
Here he found his horse and personal baggage had 
been forwarded to him. 

His army remained for four days at this place, re- 
ceiving reinforcements and supplies from the west side 
of the Mississippi River. 



132 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



On the morning of the 7th of May his army began 
its onward move towards the center of the Confederate 
hnes. 

It was his plan, at this time, to keep close to the 
Big Black River, guarding its ferries so the enemy 
could not use them ; to have McPherson move to Ray- 
mond, defeat the enemy, make a dash to the state capi- 
tal (Jackson), destroy the railroad, telegraph lines, and 
stores, and then quickly return to the main army. 

Early on the 12th, AlcPherson encountered the foe 
near Raymond and drove him before him. They re- 
treated, not to Vicksburg, but to Jackson. When 
Grant heard of this he was with Sherman, seven miles 
west from the battle ground of Raymond, and at once 
inferred that the enemy had a force which was being 
rapidly reinforced at Jackson. With great rapidity 
he began to countermand former orders, giving de- 
tailed instructions for turning the march of his whole 
army to Jackson. The extraordinary ability of Grant 
to change his plan to suit circumstances, at a moment's 
notice, was one of the secrets of his success. 

The purpose of this change was to destroy or drive 
away the enemy from Jackson and destroy their hope 
of aid to Pemberton, when he (Grant) should begin 
the siege of Vicksburg. To do this, however, he must 
uncover his communications. 

That my young readers may understand the bold- 
ness of such an act, they must know that it is an axiom 
in war that when an army is advancing into an enemy's 
country it must have a place in the rear to get its food 
and other supplies from, and must keep the road to it 



BATTLING FOR VICKSBURG 133 



so guarded, that intelligence can be sent to and from 
it. Grant, seeing that to guard his communications 
would cost him so much in time and men as to defeat 
his real purpose (the capture of Vicksburg), resolved 
to have no communications. He must first destroy all 
hopes of the Confederates of getting aid from Jack- 
son, by destroying their railroads and stores and by 
defeating or driving away the enemy there. If Grant 
allowed Johnston time he would soon put Jackson in 
such a state of defense as to make it impossible, or 
hard, to capture. 

So it was that he turned his whole army towards 
Jackson, thus having an army as large as his own in 
his rear and Johnston in his front. He captured the 
town on the 14th, raised the national flag over the 
state capitol, burned its storehouses, destroyed a fac- 
tory which was making cloth for Confederate tents, 
telegraph wires and railroads, and other things of 
value to the Confederates. That night General 
Grant slept in the room that the Confederate General 
Johnston had occupied the night previous. 

While here he learned of the design of the enemy 
to join their forces and attack him in the rear, and at 
once determined to forestall him in the movement. 
With this purpose, he directed McClernand to march 
his corps to Bolton Station and all his other forces, 
except Sherman, to rendezvous in that vicinity. 

Grant had already assured success to his army by 
the rapidity of its marches, making his men use their 
legs instead of their arms, so that fighting was of sec- 
ondary importance. He felt sure that by these move- 



134 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



ments he would prevent the junction of Johnston's 
army with Pemberton. 

As the army moved forward it presented a some- 
what grotesque appearance. Its vehicles consisted of 
all kinds of conveyances from an ordinary farm wagon 
to an aristocratic barouche. Some had only a pair of 
wheels on which was fastened a large box. The ani- 
mals were as varied as the carriages. There were 
horses, mules, oxen, and even sometimes cows, hitched 
to these carriages, with straw collars, or cotton or 
tarred ropes, and in some instances by plow har- 
nesses, or occasionally by silver-plated harness. To 
an aristocratic carriage piled high with ammunition 
there would be hitched a pair or more of mules. Be- 
hind these teams were sheep or cows, while the sol- 
diers were loaded down with hens, chickens, geese, and 
sometimes parts of the carcasses of sheep or pigs. 

Every mill of the country through which they passed 
was grinding corn for the army. The soldiers en- 
joyed these grotesque arrangements more than the 
people. Those that invoke war must expect its conse- 
quences. 

The enemy was found occupying Champion Hill. 
The position was well taken; the land was high, en- 
abling them to command with cannon and musketry 
all the ground within range. 

The attack was begun by our skirmishers and, by 
II o'clock, the battle was raging fiercely. Grant sent 
word for McClernand to attack at once. McClernand, 
who was on the left, did not get this order until the 
battle was over, hence his attack was feeble, as he had 



BATTLING FOR VICKSBURG 135 



previously been told not to bring on an engagement. 
On the extreme left Logan attacked and moved rapidly 
around the northern hillside. McPherson attacked 
the eastern hillside. About two o'clock Hovey, of Mc- 
Pherson's corps, met with a check and was driven 
back, losing two of eleven guns that they had taken 
from the enemy. Reinforced with another division, 
he drove the enemy before him over the hill and down 
to the Raymond road in disorderly retreat. There 
had been so little fighting on their left, however, that 
it was powerful enough to cover the Confederate re- 
treat. The Confederates that had been fighting Logan 
broke at the same time and retreated across Baker's 
Creek by a bridge. The whole Confederate army was 
in disordered flight. 

It was the hardest fight of the whole campaign. 
The Union loss was 2,441 men, of whom 2,254 were 
killed or wounded. The Confederates lost 3,624 men, 
of whom 2,195 were prisoners of war. Though not to 
be compared in losses with many battles, it produced 
great results. 

On the 17th, the pursuit was renewed, with McCler- 
nand's corps in advance. The enemy was overtaken 
at the bridge across the Big Black River, where the 
fight was short but hot and decisive. The enemy 
fought from behind rifle pits and in their front was a 
shallow bayou. The rifle pits being flanked by the 
Union army, the enemy fled to the bridge, where a 
large number of prisoners and several pieces of their 
artillery were captured. Sherman's troops, mean- 
while, had crossed the river higher up at Bridgeport 



136 A LIFE OF GRANT 



by a pontoon bridge. It was night, but pitch pine 
torches and fires Ht up the scene of crossing. Mc- 
Pherson and McClernand built floating bridges and 
got across the river early on the morning of the i8th. 
The needful delay in building them gave the Confed- 
erates time to reach their fortifications at Vicksburg, 
where they regained confidence and courage once 
more. They hoped that by making a sturdy resistance 
here, some means would be found to prevent its cap- 
ture. 

The Union army moved forward on Vicksburg at 
once. As they came in sight of the enemy's defenses, 
McClernand's corps was sent to the left, Sherman to 
the right, and McPherson to the center. Sherman 
and Grant rode together to the Walnut Hills, where 
they could view the Yazoo River and the steep bluffs 
that Sherman had vainly assaulted six months before. 
A great campaign had been brought to a brilliant and 
successful conclusion. With the possession of Haines's 
Bluff, Vicksburg could not be held and must ultimately 
surrender. Since the 30th of ]\Iay they had fought 
decisive battles against an enemy more numerous than 
their own army, and were now about to invest its de- 
fenses, behind which was an army as large as their 
own, with Johnston in its rear. 

As the two friends stood on Haines's Bluff, Sherman 
said to Grant : " Up to this time I have had no posi- 
tive assurance of success. This is the end of one of 
the greatest campaigns in history. You should write 
your report of it at once." 



CHAPTER XIV 



THE INVESTMENT OF VICKSBURG 

The campaign that was closing has few equals in 
history. Within nineteen days after landing at Bruins- 
burg, the Union army had marched nearly two hun- 
dred miles, fought five battles, captured five thousand 
prisoners and ninety pieces of artillery, destroyed 
stores, telegraph lines and railroads, and that from a 
foe more numerous than itself. 

The enemy was in a vast intrenched position, — its 
camps describing around the city a semicircle of seven 
miles or more in extent. Their position was naturally 
strong, being on a bluff or plateau two hundred feet 
above the river and nearly two miles in width. The 
Union army drawn around Vicksburg faced a chaos 
of deep, almost impassable ravines, the sides of which 
were steep and difficult to climb. There were roads 
along the crest of these hills, but they were swept by 
the cannon and musketry of the enemy. There was 
also a line of strong forts on the river front to defend 
it from our gunboats. 

Grant felt relief when he had made sure of his base 
of supplies on the Yazoo River. In going among the 
men, inspecting with his own eyes the positions, just 
after their arrival, he overheard a soldier whom he 
knew, say, " Hard tack." The men near by repeated 

137 



138 . A LIFE OF GRANT 

the words, and soon all along the line was heard the 
cry, " Hard tack! hard tack! hard tack! " Grant said 
to some of them nearest to him, " I am building a road 
in the rear and you will soon have your hard bread and 
regular rations." The good news spread and soon 
cheers were heard all along the line. The men had 
had enough to eat, but they missed their bread. 

When the Confederates found themselves behind 
their formidable line of works, their confidence began 
to return. Grant knew that they would be compelled 
to surrender, without much fighting, but that it would 
take time. He, as well as his officers and men, be- 
lieved that the enemy were badly demoralized, and 
was impatient to capture the place and the enemy at 
once. They did not like the idea of digging all sum- 
mer to get them. There were other than military rea- 
sons for compelling an early surrender. In the East 
the Union army had met with bitter defeats. The 
people were impatient ; there were among them those 
who exulted at every Confederate victory, mourned at 
every rebel defeat, and were clamoring through their 
newspapers and speech-makers to have the " War for 
the Union " stopped. They were for peace on any 
terms, even at the price of the dissolution of the 
Union. A great Union victory would stop this dan- 
gerous clamor. For these reasons, as well as the fact 
that he had an enemy in his rear as well as in his front, 
it was that Grant determined on an immediate attack 
upon the enemy behind his strong works. 

On the morning of the 19th of June there began a 
crackling conversation of musketry between the op- 



THE INVESTMENT OF VICKSBURG 139 



posing sharpshooters and skirmishers as they went into 
position. At two o'clock the attack began. The 
strength of organized attacks is in their ability to act 
all together, but the hindering ravines and thickets that 
obstructed our attack made this impossible. Sher- 
man's corps got close up to the enemy's works, but 
McPherson's and McClernand's corps were too far in 
the rear to second properly its efforts. The attack re- 
sulted, however, in securing for Grant a safer and 
nearer position before the enemy's works. The at- 
tack had failed; but Grant was determined to make 
another trial. 

The 20th and 21st were spent in strengthening their 
positions in front of the enemy, and in construction of 
roads in our rear. The attack was ordered on the 
2 1 St. That it might be simultaneous the watches of 
the several commanders were set by Grant's. 

At ten o'clock every gun of the Union artillery be- 
gan to blaze and thunder. The attack of the three 
army corps began. A line of men first rushed for- 
ward, carrying boards or joists to bridge the ditches of 
the enemy's works ; a column of attack followed, some 
of the men reaching the outside slopes of the works 
and planting their colors there. But the enemy, rising 
in double ranks from behind their intrenchments, 
poured in a deadly musket fire upon them, driving 
them into the ditches and sweeping their defenses with 
a leaden shower of death. When the front ranks of 
Grant's men reached the enemy's works they were 
pushed forward by those behind them until they 
reached the outer slopes of the hostile breastworks. 



140 A LIFE OF GRANT 



Exposed to a gun fire from a double line of men, they 
were soon broken into groups seeking protection be- 
hind logs, in the ditches, or wherever protection was 
afforded from the close-range fire of the enemy. All 
along the line the battle raged furiously. Desperate 
deeds of valor were performed. Men dragged field 
artillery to places where horses could not live for a 
moment. 

An Ohio sergeant of nineteen got into one of the 
forts after his comrades had all been killed. He found 
there one Confederate officer with fifteen soldiers. 
" This fort is too hot for any one to stay here ! " he 
shouted to them. " Come with me ! " They all 
obeyed, and he brought twelve of them into the Union 
lines; the rest of them were shot while climbing out 
of the fort. 

At the point where this incident occurred, McCler- 
nand reported that he had carried two forts. Grant 
was in a position overlooking the fight and believed 
that McClernand was deceived. He, however, sent 
him the reinforcements he had called for. The men 
went into the fight gallantly, but were driven back. It 
was another bloody repulse. 

On the same night some of our men threw up breast- 
works within a hundred and forty feet of the enemy's 
works. 

After the battle McClernand published a grandilo- 
quent address to his troops congratulating them at the 
expense of the rest of the army; and even insinuating 
that Grant had not properly supported him. Grant 
might have passed this unnoticed, had he not sent his 



THE INVESTMENT OF VICKSBURG 141 



proclamation North and had it printed in the news- 
papers there. 

Issuing such an order was, in itself, an act of in- 
subordination not tolerated in an army. Grant had 
borne with McClernand, who was brave though not 
prompt to obey orders, patiently for months. So, 
though he could overlook the personal injustice, he 
would not allow his brave officers and men to be dis- 
credited by such a proclamation. McClernand was 
therefore relieved from further duty, and his place 
filled by General Ord. 

Two days after the fight a truce was granted by 
Pemberton to bury the dead and to bring into our lines 
such wounded Union men as were still uncared for. 
During the truce the men of the opposing forces talked 
and joked together with the utmost good nature, and 
swapped rations, corn bread for hard tack and coffee 
for tobacco. 

The Union soldiers, now convinced that they could 
not take the town by fighting, went cheerfully to work 
to " dig them out of their holes,'* as they termed it. 
The contesting lines of " Rebs " and " Yanks " were 
now so close that conversations were carried on be- 
tween them. 

" Hullo, you blue-bellied Yanks, what ar' ye' doing 
thar?" 

" Guarding thirty thousand prisoners and making 
them board themselves." 

" Why don't you Yanks take Vicksburg? " 

" Grant hain't got transportation yet to take ye up 
North." 



142 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



It leaked out during these conversations, that the 
Confederates were short of rations. Flour was a thou- 
sand dollars a barrel ; beef two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars a pound in Confederate money; and everything 
proportionately high in Vicksburg. 

Why don't you come over here, Rebs, and have 
some decent rations? " said one of Grant's men. 

" Why don't you's give it up and go home, Yanks? " 

" Oh, we've got to dig you out of here fust." 

" 'Twill take a right smart long time to do that, 
Yank." 

Well, we hev concluded to wait till the 4th of July 
so as to celebrate and gobble you at the same time." 

This good-natured though sharp talk showed that 
there was not much bad feeling between the rank and 
file of the contending armies. 

At the beginning of the siege Grant's army was not 
large enough properly to encircle Vicksburg. Halleck 
loyally sent him reinforcements as fast as possible. 
They were needed. Johnston had a force in his rear 
of 32,000 men, while the enemy in front had not far 
from 30,000 more. 

The men worked cheerfully at the siege. Negroes, 
freed by the advance of Grant's army, were hired to 
do some of the heaviest of the work, and many, for 
the first time in their lives, got pay for their labor. 

All West Point officers were detailed for engineer 
duty to superintend the construction of offensive works. 
The men, with Yankee ingenuity, soon learned to make 
siege material, such as fascines, gabions, and sap- 
rollers. It may interest my young readers to know 



THE INVESTMENT OF VICKSBURG 143 



what these are for and how they are made. A gabion 
is made as follows: A circle two and a half feet in 
diameter is first made on the ground; around this 
stakes four feet high are driven into the ground five 
inches apart; between these stakes willows, grape- 
vines, or any flexible twigs are woven in and out in 
the same manner that baskets are made. When fin- 
ished, a gabion resembles a huge rough basket without 
top or bottom. These were usually carried in the night 
as near to the enemy as possible and filled with earth, 
thus acting as a shield from the fire of the enemy. A 
single man was thus protected; then others could ad- 
vance in line with it from the rear with other gabions 
to place beside it, until a long line of earthworks was 
built. Sap-rollers were made in the same manner, 
only they were four or five times as long, and were 
used to roll in front of a party of men, protecting them 
while advancing toward the enemy. Sometimes dur- 
ing the siege two or more barrels, put head to head 
and wound with twigs, were used as sap-rollers. Fas- 
cines are long bundles of sticks which are put upon 
the top of earthworks or anywhere they can be used 
for protection. 

The ravines and gullies commanded by the enemy's 
guns would be bridged with logs or, when it became 
necessary to cross a gully or ravine, strong breast- 
works of logs were constructed in the night across 
them, behind which would be placed riflemen to open 
fire in the morning. 

Grant on foot, dusty and roughly dressed, could be 
seen daily in the ditches, keenly observant, or with 



144 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



bowed head in abstracted thought. There was noth- 
ing about him but his shoulder straps to invite notice, 
nothing to invite salutes or cheers. He was gone in 
most cases before he was recognized. Once during 
the siege, while his men in front of Logan's division 
were at work, they were annoyed by the enemy's sharp- 
shooters. Grant, seeing them dodging the shot and 
showing other indications of fright, seated himself on 
a pile of rails beside them and whittled at a stick while 
the bullets flew swiftly around him. The men, en- 
couraged by his example, continued their work with- 
out further dodging. A black horse had been pre- 
sented to him that he had named Jeff Davis. It had 
been captured on the estate of Jefferson Davis at 
Carthage. His men declared that he never rode him 
where bullets were thick for fear he would get hurt, 
but rode a less valuable horse. 

Generally the attitude of the Confederate soldiers 
within their works was one of curiosity rather than 
antagonism ; quite often an agreement would exist be- 
tween *' Yanks " and " Rebs " not to fire on each other 
without sufficient notice. These informal truces were 
seldom violated. On one occasion, in front of Ord's 
corps, the pickets of the " Rebs " and " Yanks " be- 
came intermingled. After some discussion the oppos- 
ing picket officers arranged their pickets by mutual 
compromise. The lines were not over ten feet apart. 
It shows how good-natured they were when I explain 
that the Confederates by remaining in line could have 
stopped Grant's soldiers from work by firing an occa- 
sional volley. 



THE INVESTMENT OF VICKSBURG 145 



The men developed, in this work, considerable in- 
genuity; in one instance a mirror was mounted on a 
sap-roller by which to make a reconnoissance of a rebel 
ditch. 

At first the artillery of the Union army had been 
entirely inadequate for the siege. Usually heavy 
guns are employed in this kind of work. Grant had 
only his ordinary light field artillery. A few ship- 
guns were, however, borrowed from the navy of Por- 
ter, and cohorn mortars for firing shell were made by 
shrinking iron bands onto hard wood logs and then 
boring them. 

On the 8th of June Grant was able to report, so 
speedily had he been reinforced with new regiments: 
" Vicksburg is closely invested. I have a spare force 
of about thirty thousand men with which to repel any- 
thing from the rear." It shows his confidence, for at 
this time Johnston's army in his rear was superior in 
numbers to this force for repelling them. 

While Grant was nearing the enemy's works, foot by 
foot and inch by inch, starvation inside of the town 
was helping him do his work. When one of their 
working mules or horses was killed the Confederate 
soldiers had mule or horse steak, or stew. 

Guns were now in position, and twelve miles of 
trenches were dug. The fruit of all this work and 
all these battles was ripe enough to be picked, or Vicks- 
burg to be captured. 

The Union mines in several places were laid up 
close to the enemy's works, and on the 25th of June 
one heavy mine, containing about a ton of powder, 



146 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



was exploded on the Jackson road. Great masses of 
earth were hurled by the explosion into the Union 
lines, and several of the Confederates had been blown 
into the air and had come down inside of the Union 
works. Among these was an old darkey who landed 
alive near General Logan's headquarters and who, un- 
til the siege was over, became the general's servant. 

Some one asked the old man, Uncle, how far do 
you think you went up ? " 

" Don' know, but tink 'bout tree miles ! " 

" Did you see anything of the others when you were 
up there ? " 

" Fore de Lord, massa," said the old colored man, 
when I war goin' up th' rest of dem war coming 
down." 

In from ten to twelve places Grant was now able to 
put regiments under cover within two hundred yards 
of the enemy. Mines were all ready to be exploded 
along the Confederate works. 

A rebel woman asked Grant, tauntingly, how long 
before he expected to take Vicksburg. 

" I don't know exactly," Grant replied, but I shall 
stay here until I do, if it takes thirty years." 

At last the enemy was encircled by piles of red 
earth almost up against their own earthworks, and 
the Union soldiers were digging beneath the ground. 
Grant had set the time for the capture of the place. 
On the 2nd of July word was passed around that the 
final attack was to be made on the 4th of July. The 
pickets were told not to make a secret of it in their 
conversations with the Confederate soldiers. 



THE INVESTMENT OF VICKSBURG 147 



" Hullo, Reb." 

" Hullo, Yank ; what's goin' on over yan ? " 
We are just going for you fellers 4th of July; 
goin' to pile in and catch the whole caboodle of yer." 

" We'uns 'ill have something to say 'bout that, I 
reckon, Yank." 

" Well, say what yer ar' mind to, but yer hav' got 
to come and git some better rations." 

Grant saw the end of the siege approaching and 
gave orders to Sherman to be ready to march against 
Johnston's army the moment that Vicksburg surren- 
dered. 



CHAPTER XV 



THE SURRENDER OF VICKSBURG 

On the morning of the 3d of July General Bowen, 
an old St. Louis acquaintance of Grant's, was sent by 
Pemberton to the Union lines under flag of truce, 
with a letter requesting that commissioners be ap- 
pointed to arrange terms of capitulation. Grant re- 
plied, " My only terms are unconditional surrender." 
Bowen then requested Grant to meet Pemberton be- 
tween the two lines. Grant consented. 

The meeting took place under a tree, a short dis- 
tance from the Confederate lines. General Pember- 
ton was accompanied by General Bowen and Colonel 
Montgomery, Grant by Generals McPherson, Logan, 
and Smith. 

The men of both armies swarmed on the parapets in 
the keenness of their interest. The flags swayed lazily 
in the breeze of the sultry summer day. The silence 
was almost oppressive, as the two generals approached 
each other and saluted. 

" I have come, General," said Pemberton stiffly, to 
ascertain what terms you are willing to give in case we 
surrender." 

" The surrender must be unconditional," Grant re- 
plied. 

" Then this conference might as well terminate 

148 



THE SURRENDER OF VICKSBURG 149 



now," said Pemberton haughtily ; I thought you 
might give more generous terms." 

Very well," said Grant quietly, " my army is in 
good condition to prosecute the siege." 

It was evident that unless something could be done 
to prolong it the meeting was to terminate without 
results. 

General Bo wen suggested that a conference be held 
between two of the other officers to see if satisfactory 
terms could be arranged. 

Grant said nothing, either in consent or dissent. 
Smith and Bowen retired for a while by themselves. 
Grant sat serenely smoking, while Pemberton nerv- 
ously pulled at the scanty grass. 

In a short time the two officers returned. " I sug- 
gest," said Bowen, " that our army be allowed to 
march out of Vicksburg with the honors of war." 

" No," said Grant, smiling, " I cannot consent to 
such terms." 

No conclusion was reached ; but Grant said at part- 
ing : " I will go to my headquarters and write out the 
terms I will give." 

Shortly after Grant sent to Pemberton his ultima- 
tum, which was in substance, " As soon as rolls can 
be made out and paroles signed by officers and men, 
you will be allowed to march out of our lines, the offi- 
cers taking with them their side arms and clothing. 
. . . The rank and file to take their clothing, but 
no other property." 

Pemberton replied accepting the terms, but request- 
ing that they be allowed to march out with their colors 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



and arms and stack them outside between the two 
Hnes, and that the property of citizens should be re- 
spected. 

Grant in reply said, " It will be necessary to furnish 
every officer and man with a parole signed by himself, 
which will take some time. While I do not propose to 
cause the citizens any undue annoyance or loss, I can- 
not consent to leave myself under restraint by stipu- 
lations. Should no notification be received of your 
acceptance of my terms by 9 o'clock, a.m., I shall re- 
gard them as having been rejected." These terms were 
accepted by Pemberton. 

The last hostile shot had been fired at Vicksburg. 
On the morning of the 4th of July, 1863, the soldiers 
of the Union army thronged the parapets of their 
works to see the Confederates march out from the 
city. Silently the wearied, half -starved, brave, but 
mistaken soldiers of the Confederacy issued from 
their defenses, stacked their arms in front of the works 
they had so gallantly defended, piled beside them their 
belts and cartridge boxes, reverently crowned them 
with their war-stained colors, and then silently re- 
turned to the city, prisoners of war. 

It was to the credit of the victors that they obeyed 
Grant's request that they should do nothing that could 
humiliate or offend the Confederates. During the 
two hours while they were stacking their arms not an 
exulting word was spoken, not a derisive gesture nor 
look came from the Union soldiers. 

When this ceremony was over, Logan's men marched 
into the city and took possession. 



THE SURRENDER OF VICKSBURG 151 



Grant generously went with his staff to call on Pem- 
berton at his headquarters in Vicksburg. He was re- 
ceived with marked rudeness and discourtesy. Pem- 
berton and his staff were seated on a porch, but they 
neither stood nor offered Grant a seat until they had 
stiffly conversed for several moments. When Grant 
requested a drink of water, Pemberton silently pointed 
to the rear of the house where the negro domestics 
were. There was no coldness or want of courtesy 
there. When Grant returned he found his seat oc- 
cupied and it was not offered to him again. The 
members of Grant's staff were very angry about this, 
but he only smiled, and said, " I can stand it if Pem- 
berton can." 

The Confederate rank and file exhibited better man- 
ners. They appreciated the consideration that had 
been shown them. The people thronged the side- 
walks, while Union and Confederate soldiers walked 
arm in arm together, swapping knives, sharing each 
other's rations, and discussing the campaign as though 
they were comrades instead of enemies that had lately 
been in deadly conflict. Even the non-combatants, 
who were usually the hardest to propitiate (especially 
the women), were civil and courteous. They showed 
the Union soldiers many things of interest connected 
with the siege. Among these were the caves they had 
excavated and lived in during the bombardments. 
They were dug into the hillsides and steep banks and 
were bomb proof; some of them were divided into 
rooms and furnished with taste. 

The country near Vicksburg had been stripped of 



152 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



food and Grant gave to the people ten days' rations 
to save them from suffering. 

A newspaper had been issued in the city, but they 
were so destitute of paper that it was printed on the 
blank side of wall paper. When the Union army got 
into the city they found the type set all ready for the 
press, which contained the following : 

" The great Ulysses, the Yankee Generalissimo, sur- 
named Grant, has expressed his intention of celebrating 
the Fourth of July by dining in Vicksburg. . . . 
Ulysses must get into the city first. The way to cook 
a rabbit is, first catch the rabbit." The Union soldiers 
issued the paper with this addition to the foregoing: 

Grant has caught his rabbit." 

The fruits of this victory were great; Grant had 
taken fifteen generals, 31,600 soldiers, one hundred 
and seventy-two cannon, and 60,000 muskets, mostly 
new. It was the greatest capture of men and muni- 
tions ever made at one time in the history of war. If 
we add to this his previous captures since the cam- 
paign against Vicksburg began, it swells the amount 
to 42,059 men. 

All through the campaign the press had assailed 
Grant bitterly. But now they were silent, or acknowl- 
edged their mistakes. The North was filled with re- 
joicing. Those that had honestly doubted Grant's abil- 
ity now praised him unstintedly. 

Mr. Lincoln wrote Grant a letter, saying : " My dear 
General : I do not remember that you and I ever met 
personally. I write this now as a grateful acknowl- 
edgment of the almost inestimable services you have 



THE SURRENDER OF VICKSBURG 153 



done the country. When you got below and took Port 
Gibson and Grand Gulf, I thought you should go down 
the river and join General Banks; and when you 
turned northward I feared it was a mistake. I now 
wish to make personal acknowledgment that you were 
right and I was wrong." 

Halleck gave him generous praise, and wrote : 
" In boldness of plan, rapidity of execution, and 
brilliancy of routes, these operations will compare 
with those of Napoleon about Ulm. You and your 
army have deserved the gratitude of your country." 

Grant was, meanwhile, sleeplessly vigilant and ac- 
tive ; the work he had done being, to him, the founda- 
tion for greater work. He was neither elated nor 
puffed up, but remained simple and undemonstrative 
as ever. But he had achieved national fame, and a 
position that could no longer be easily assailed by his 
detractors and enemies. He had fought his way up. 
He had achieved his position by hard work and hard 
sense. 



CHAPTER XVI 



THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN 

Grant was now forty -one years of age, and in the 
full maturity of his physical and mental strength. 
Slander, that had hitherto assailed him after every vic- 
tory, was now silent. Engrossed resolutions, medals, 
degrees from colleges, and other honors poured in 
upon him. Though he had gained greater confidence 
in himself by his successes, he remained the same un- 
pretentious, simple man. Nothing but injustice to his 
soldiers disturbed his serenity. On one occasion when 
steamboat officers had overcharged them for passage, 
he made them refund the amount. " I will teach 
them," he said, " that the men who have periled their 
lives to open the Mississippi for their benefit must not 
be imposed upon." 

Speculators in cotton who were corrupting his sol- 
diers were sent away with stern reprimands. 

Chafing at idleness. Grant now requested permis- 
sion to capture Mobile. His request was not granted, 
and some of his regiments were sent to recruit other 
armies. The Thirteenth Army Corps was sent to New 
Orleans to recruit General Banks, with whom Grant 
was requested to cooperate. With this in view he vis- 
ited Banks in New Orleans, to confer with him. 

Here he was overwhelmed by attentions. People 

154 



THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN 155 



thronged his hotel to see the great soldier. When 
serenaded and called upon for a speech, he instructed 
a friend to reply, " General Grant never speaks in 
public." In plain undress uniform, without sword, 
sash or belt, he attended a review of troops. Seated 
upon a horse he saw the magnificent columns pass 
before him. The Thirteenth Army Corps, that had 
carried his colors at Belmont, Donelson, Shiloh, and 
Vicksburg, greeted him with thunderous applause. 

On his way back to the city, the horse that had been 
furnished him by General Banks becoming unmanage- 
able, dashed against a carriage, and fell heavily upon 
Grant's leg and hip. He was carried, unconscious, to 
his hotel. For two weeks he suffered great pain and 
w^as unable to leave his room. While still suffering 
from a swollen hip and leg, he returned to Vicksburg. 

On the 1 2th of October, still suffering from his in- 
jury, Grant received instructions to proceed to Cairo 
to meet Secretary of War Stanton. The Secretary 
placed in Grant's hands, when they met, an order mak- 
ing him commander-in-chief of the whole Western 
Army. 

There was at this time trouble in Tennessee. At 
the battle of Chickamauga, Rosecrans, commanding 
there, lost sixteen thousand men, fifty-five cannon, and 
had been saved from annihilation only by the sturdy 
pluck and skill of General Thomas, who, because of his 
bravery on that occasion, was called by his soldiers 

The Rock of Chickamauga." 

Rosecrans' army was in a desperate situation; the 
enemy had seized his communications, and his soldiers 



156 A LIFE OF GRANT 



at Chickamauga were so destitute as to eat the corn 
that horses and mules had dropped. The sick and 
wounded were suffering for want of proper supphes 
and firewood was only to be obtained by driving away 
the enemy's pickets. To make matters worse, it was 
believed that Rosecrans was preparing to retreat. 

Grant at once wired orders relieving Rosecrans from 
command and putting General Thomas in his place, 
with orders to hold Chattanooga at all hazards. 
Thomas replied : " I will hold Chattanooga until we 
starve." 

Grant started at once, by a railway which ran only 
to Bridgeport, for Chattanooga. He was still suf- 
fering from his injuries. From Bridgeport he at- 
tempted to ride in an ambulance, but soon took to his 
horse, for his hip and leg were still so swollen that 
the jolting over the rough roads tortured him. He 
made no complaint, and his soldiers tenderly carried 
him in their arms over the roughest parts of the 
road. At every telegraph station he sent lucid and 
minute instructions to his generals. He seemed to 
understand their needs by intuition, and inspired them 
with his own zeal and activity. Dead mules strewed 
the way from Bridgeport and the road was so difficult 
to travel even on horseback that Grant said, " If a re- 
treat had occurred at this time, it is not probable that 
any of the army, if followed by the enemy, would 
have reached the railroad as an organized body." 

He arrived in the night at Chattanooga, and went 
at once to see General Thomas. Thomas received him 
politely but coldly, not appearing to notice, until his 



THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN 157 



attention was called to the fact by an officer, that 
Grant was dripping with rain, was tired, and must be 
hungry. 

Grant accepted the food tardily proffered, but not 
the dry clothing offered, and made no remarks then 
nor afterwards about Thomas's neglect, but it is pos- 
sible that he remembered it. 

He found the army in a position of great peril. 
Though the town was too strongly fortified for the 
Confederates to take by storm, they daily dropped 
shell into the city. The soldiers were short of am- 
munition, the horses and mules were starving for the 
want of forage, and the men were on quarter rations. 

The town was completely blockaded on the south, 
while on the east the enemy had stretched their lines 
along Missionary Ridge, across the Chattanooga Val- 
ley to Lookout Mountain, where, west of the town, its 
precipitous heights came down to the river. At this 
point the Tennessee River forms a loop like the letter 
U and inside of this U there is a rocky promontory 
called Moccasin Point. This was in the possession 
of the Union troops, but the left side of the river for 
a long distance was in the possession of the Confed- 
erate pickets. This left side was the natural line of 
supply for the Union army, and Rosecrans, by giving 
up Lookout Mountain, had lost the advantage of this 
short line from the railroad at Bridgeport. At 
Grant's arrival supplies were received by a route 
from the north over a road not only long and poor, 
but liable to the attacks of Confederate cavalry. It 
was necessary, therefore, to send a heavy guard with 



I5S 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



each train; and it sometimes took so long to make 
the passage that the trains, on their arrival at Chatta- 
nooga, were empty, all the provisions having been 
taken to feed the guard. 

Let us see what General Grant did to overcome 
these difficult conditions. Thomas's engineer, Gen- 
eral Smith, had a plan by which he proposed to open 
a shorter route to Bridgeport, from where the Union 
supplies were drawn. Grant at once made a recon- 
noissance to learn if the plan was practical. 

The enemy's pickets were separated from our own 
at the foot of Missionary Ridge by only the narrow 
Chickamauga Creek. While Grant was riding here 
one morning, he saw a party drawing water on the 
other side of the creek. As they were dressed in 
blue, he supposed they were Union troops; so he in- 
quired, "What part of the army do you belong to? " 

" Longstreet's Corps," they replied. 

"What are you dressed in blue for?" 

" All of Longstreet's Corps wear blue," they re- 
plied. 

He coolly turned his horse and rode away, before 
the Confederates discovered that they were talking to 
General Grant. 

Satisfied that General Smith's plan was practical, 
he proceeded at once to put it in operation. 

At three o'clock on the morning of the 27th a force 
of 1,000 picked men was embarked on pontoon boats, 
and quickly and noiselessly was carried by the swift 
current down to Brown's Ferry. Here they cap- 
tured the Confederate pickets, quickly built a bridge 



THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN 159 



of boats, fortifying the opposite heights for its pro- 
tection. 

Hooker, meanwhile, carried out his part of the plan 
with great skill and energy. With the nth Corps 
under Howard and a part of the 12th Corps under 
Geary, he advanced up Lookout Valley, in plain sight 
and under fire of the Confederates. Howard en- 
countered the enemy and drove them across Lookout 
Creek, and about five o'clock the column halted a mile 
up the valley from Brown's Ferry. 

The news of this movement spread through the 
Union camps, and though even when established a 
deadly struggle would naturally ensue to hold a con- 
tinuous line, yet the army was cheered by the news 
that the valley was in their possession, and that a 
short line for receiving supplies was assured. 

The day previous they had been in a position that 
foreboded a retreat or starvation. They had this day 
secured a short line for receiving supplies, which the 
Confederates could only regain by desperate fighting. 

From the hills Longstreet saw the camp-fires of 
Geary in the valley and, knowing that this movement, 
if not prevented, would end the siege of Chattanooga, 
he fell upon Hooker's forces in the night, directing 
the movements of his troops by torches from the 
heights. Our signal officers having learned Long- 
street's code of signals, read these orders and gave 
them to Geary, who was thus enabled to anticipate 
and repulse every attack. After three hours of fight- 
ing in the dark the enemy was whipped, and was glad 
to retreat. They made no further attempts to drive 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



the Union troops from Lookout Valley. From that 
valley to Kelley's Ferry they were driven away, or 
captured, and the " cracker line," as the soldiers called 
it, was open, and kept open, for the supply and re- 
inforcement of the Union army. 

Within one week after his arrival Grant had raised 
the siege of Chattanooga, and had put Bragg, the 
Confederate general, on the defensive. Bragg, how- 
ever, did not deem it possible that he could be suc- 
cessfully attacked in his mountain positions and, to 
regain his lost prestige, he sent Longstreet's corps to 
attack Burnside's army in East Tennessee. 

Grant being informed of this was alarmed for 
Burnside, who was at Knoxville, a hundred miles 
northeast of Chattanooga, where his army was com- 
pelled to draw its supplies over a long and difficult 
line, and was on short rations. He, therefore, or- 
dered Thomas to attack the northern part of Mission- 
ary Ridge for the purpose of recalling Longstreet. 
Thomas thought the project hazardous, and did not 
hesitate to say so. Grant never forgave Thomas for 
not obeying this order without questioning its wis- 
dom. 

Sherman, w^ho was now in command of the Army 
of the Tennessee, w^as ordered to come to Chatta- 
nooga and was making as good time as possible over 
muddy roads and broken bridges. Grant awaited his 
arrival before attacking Bragg's army. 

On the night of November 13th Sherman rode 
into Chattanooga, and the next day viewed with en- 
thusiasm the work laid out for him. " All things 



THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN i6i 



had been arranged," said Sherman, " with a foresight 
that eHcited my admiration. From the hills we 
looked down on the amphitheater of Chattanooga as 
on a map and nothing remained but for me to put my 
troops in the desired position." 

Sherman soon had his men in position, concealed 
behind the northern hills, and all was ready for the 
execution of Grant's plans. 

On the morning of the 23d of November the 
Union troops were moving into position ; a thin vapor 
concealed them from the foe on the surrounding hills. 
In the afternoon the sun dispelled the fog and the 
enemy could see Grant's army as, with colors flying 
and drums beating, two divisions moved in front of 
the Eleventh Corps drawn up in their rear. So pre- 
cise and machine-like were the movements of the 
troops, that the Confederates thought it was a review, 
and looked on as interested spectators of a brilliant 
show. 

They were soon undeceived in a startling manner. 
Suddenly two divisions, under Sheridan and Wood, 
rushed upon the Confederate outpost, drove them be- 
fore them, and captured the first line of the enemy's 
pickets, and many of its defenders. Orchard Knob 
was seized and fortified. A roar of artillery closed 
the first day's operations. Grant had scored a suc- 
cess, in this first day's work, and felt confident of 
final victory. 

On the night of the 23d Sherman, with 8,000 men, 
was on the banks of the Tennessee. He had minutely 
explained to each of his division commanders the 



1 62 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



work he had to do, and at about one o'clock marched 
on Chickamauga Creek. 

He sent one brigade of each of his divisions to the 
top of ^Missionary Ridge, which he supposed from 
his maps was one continuous ridge; his surprise can 
be imagined when he found a valley between them 
and the strong position which the enemy held near a 
railroad tunnel. Nothing daunted, that night he 
fortified his position, and the gleam of his camp-fires 
gave Grant confidence in the success of his plans. 

While this was taking place, Hooker, by Grant's 
order, was about to attack Lookout Mountain, whose 
palisaded crest and steep, rocky slopes presented a 
formidable hindrance to his advance. The army op- 
posing him in this almost inaccessible place was but 
little inferior in numbers to his own; the ground was 
unfamiliar to him, and his three divisions had never 
before acted together. 

While Hooker was repairing a bridge across Wau- 
hatchie Creek the enemy swarmed down to fill their 
defenses, and were so occupied that they paid but 
little heed to Geary, who had crossed the creek and 
was moving down the valley in the fog, and was soon 
in a position to enfilade their works. The whole 
command under Geary now rushed up the steep sides 
of the mountain, driving the Confederates before 
them. At 2 o'clock the clouds that had been hanging 
over the mountain became so thick that it was dark 
as night. They halted and dug rifle-pits for their 
protection. 

The Union soldiers at Chattanooga in the fields be- 



THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN 163 



low saw only the flash of muskets and glimpses of 
moving men and waving flags through the lifting 
clouds on the mountain ; but at 4 o'clock Hooker sent 
word to Grant that he had gained a position that he 
considered impregnable. 

By this picturesque battle and victory above the 
clouds, the Union lines Avere shortened and strength- 
ened; on the morning of the 25th the enemy had re- 
treated and Grant's lines were connected perfectly 
from one end to the other. 

When Grant learned that Hooker had lost but few 
men in his attack on Lookout Mountain, he suspected 
that the Confederates had been reinforcing their 
army in front of Sherman, 

Sherman was ordered to attack on the left by day- 
break. The foe had found out that there was where 
their danger lay and had concentrated reinforcements, 
as Grant had surmised, on that part of their line. 
Sherman, on horseback early in the morning, rode his 
lines from one end to the other and was ready for 
battle. He had a hard task before him. The hill 
in his front was bristling with Confederate muskets, 
behind defenses crowned with formidable artillery. 

At the rising of the sun his bugles sounded the 
signal for attack, General Smith commanding the left 
and General Corse the center. Sherman attacked 
fiercely and with his usual skill, but as he threatened 
the Confederate depot of supplies at Chickamauga 
Station, Bragg had recognized his peril and weakened 
his center to reinforce heavily this point. 

From his post of observation on Orchard Knob, 



164 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Grant saw that the enemy was withdrawing men from 
his center to reinforce in front of Sherman, and, rec- 
ognizing that the opportune moment had come for 
an attack on the enemy's center, gave the order 
for an advance on Missionary Ridge. Baird, Wood, 
and Sheridan, each with three brigades, and Johnson 
with two, went forward to the assault. The orders 
were to take the first Hne of rifle-pits and, stopping 
there, re-form and rest. 

With bands playing, flags flying, in as regular for- 
mations as though on parade, they went forward, and 
then broke into a double quick and rushed upon the 
enemy. Taken by surprise, the Confederates threw 
themselves on the ground to escape the fire of their 
own batteries, that had opened on the trenches. The 
Union troops passed over them, sending a thousand 
prisoners to the rear. The artillery on the ridge 
above broke out in terrible clamor, sweeping the hill- 
side, and filling the air with shrieking shell and 
screaming shots from cannon. All along the rifle- 
pits above the assaulting column of Union blue, there 
rose long lines of white sulphur smoke from the 
muskets of the foe, and bullets hummed and whistled 
like bees and hornets. They paused but a moment 
at the first line of rifle-pits, wavering under the terri- 
ble fire of musketry and cannon. Then, as though 
by electric impulse, the whole line rushed forward. 
The soldiers in the ranks, discovering that it was 
more dangerous to remain than to go forward, had 
taken the direction of the assault into their own 
hands. No longer in order of ranks, they pressed 



THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN 165 



forward like a lance head, the strongest ahead and 
the weakest behind, with their colors like a beacon at 
the tip of the lance. Here and there the colors went 
down, meaning that the color-bearer was killed or 
wounded ; but up they went again and forward, mean- 
ing that a new man had taken the place of the dead or 
wounded. The crest of the hill above them was 
flaming with musketry and thundering with cannon; 
still the Union lines pressed on, driving the enemy 
before them, and then, like a mighty wave tipped with 
foam of steel, it broke over the crest, sweeping with 
resistless force the Confederate divisions like straw 
before them. In vain Bragg rode to the front line 
of his retreating, beaten men, exclaiming, " Here's 
your general ! " They shouted back, Here's your 
mule," and still retreated. 

As Grant saw this scene his blood thrilled and his 
usually impassive face lit up, as he exclaimed, " Bring 
my horse ! I am going up there ! " On his way, 
he caught a view of the impassive Thomas jogging 
along on his horse back to Chattanooga to his dinner. 

The Union soldiers, having seized their guns on 
the heights, turned them on the enemy, now in dis- 
orderly retreat; and Sheridan, astride a cannon, was 
ordering a pursuit in sulphurous exclamations. 

As Grant rode along the lines he was recognized by 
his hero soldiers, with shouts and cheers, and with 
the exclamation, " Now we have a general ! " 

Sheridan, in pursuit, captured a large number of 
cannon and wagons, but the Confederates, reaching a 
hill, turned at bay. Sheridan flanked their position. 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



and in his report says, " But a few moments elapsed 
ere the 26th Ohio and the 15th Indiana carried the 
crest. When the head of the column reached the 
summit of the hill the moon rose from behind, and a 
medallion view of the column was disclosed as it 
crossed^ the moon's disk and attacked the enemy who, 
outflanked on right and left, fled, leaving two pieces 
of artillery and many wagons." 

Many have sought for the cause of this phenomenal 
victory ; but the real cause is to be found in the mag- 
nificent plans of Grant, and the confidence of his 
soldiers. 

After assuring himself that everything possible had 
been done in pursuing the retreating enemy, Grant 
sent orders for Sherman to march at once to the re- 
lief of Burnside at Knoxville, a hundred miles away. 

The elation of the army is expressed by a message 
that Dana, the Assistant Secretary of War, sent that 
night to Washington : Glory to God ! The day is 
decisively ours. Our men are frantic with joy and 
enthusiasm, and received Grant, as he rode along the 
lines after the victory, with tumultuous shouts." 

Halleck pronounced Chattanooga the most remark- 
able battle of history. Lincoln wrote to Grant ten- 
dering him his profoundest gratitude and recom- 
mended a national thanksgiving for the great victory. 



CHAPTER XVII 



GRANT COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 

There was great rejoicing throughout the North 
when Grant's victory was flashed over the land. In 
a brief campaign of a few weeks, as if by magic he 
had changed the whole face of affairs at Chatta- 
nooga. The press, the people, and the administra- 
tion at Washington had now discovered that wher- 
ever Grant was in command progress had been made 
in conquering the rebellion. When Mr. Lincoln had 
been shown a paragraph in a Southern newspaper 
professing pleasure over the appointment of Thomas 
and Grant to higher commands, saying that Lincoln 
had supplanted one hero, Rosecrans, with two fools, 
he laughingly said, " With one more fool like Grant 
we should make short work with them/' In this he 
voiced the general sentiment of Union people. 

Grant was, meanwhile, not content to rest with 
what he had done. He strengthened his position, 
made plans for driving Longstreet from Tennessee, 
visited Knoxville to see Burnside's little army; and, 
though it was midwinter, rode through Cumberland 
Gap to see for himself the road over which there had 
been so much fighting, and through which supplies 
were being hauled for Burnside's army. Intensely 

167 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



active, he made another request for permission to 
capture Mobile, and was again denied. 

Learning that his son Fred, who had accompanied 
him through the Vicksburg campaign and had there 
contracted disease, was dangerously sick in St. Louis 
with the family of his old real-estate partner, he 
obtained leave to visit him. 

There had been mighty changes since, a few years 
previous, he as a humble, almost despised farmer 
was carting grain and wood from Hardscrabble to 
St. Louis. He was now the nation's hero. With 
his family and friends he attended the theater, riding 
down town in a street car. 

A private box had been assigned his party, and 
Grant sat back out of sight. As soon as the curtain 
was dropped on the first act, the audience began to 
shout, " Grant, Grant, get up ! " He responded by 
coming forward and bowing diffidently, and then re- 
turned abruptly out of sight. This only provoked a 
renewal of cheers, and new cries for Grant, which 
could only be silenced by his taking his seat at the 
front. 

Leading citizens and soldiers tendered him a din- 
ner to " meet old acquaintances and form new ones." 
There were present, among others. Generals Scho- 
field and Rosecrans, and his white-haired father-in- 
law, who sat near him. The hard-working farmer 
of Hardscrabble, the man who had failed as a real- 
estate agent, had become the greatest soldier of his 
time. 

To politicians who interviewed him, to see if he 



GRANT COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 169 



would be a candidate for the presidency, he said, " I 
never wanted but one office in my Hfe; I wanted to 
be mayor of Galena long enough to build a sidewalk 
from my house to the depot." When the son of the 
man who had caused his appointment to West Point 
wrote to him a friendly letter, inquiring if under any 
circumstance he would allow his name to be used as 
a candidate for President, he replied, " My only de- 
sire is to serve the country in her present trials. To 
do this efficiently it is necessary to have the confidence 
of the army and the people." 

By this it will be seen that Grant had very clear 
views as to his duty in keeping himself clear from 
political entanglements, that might impair his effi- 
ciency in serving the Union as a soldier. 

At that time, after three years of war, we find that 
the Union cause had been slowly but constantly ad- 
vancing. West Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, Mis- 
souri, and Kentucky, all claimed at the beginning as 
Confederate territory, were now hopelessly lost to 
the Confederacy. There were important points on 
the coast of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida where 
the national flag had been planted. From Hampton 
Roads in Virginia to Galveston in Texas, the coast 
was closely blockaded by the navy. Only the luck- 
iest of blockade-runners could slip through this line 
to carry to foreign markets sugar or cotton in ex- 
change for military or hospital supplies. The Mis- 
sissippi had been opened from its source to the sea 
and here detachments of the army and flotillas of 
gunboats hedged in the Confederacy on its western 



170 A LIFE OF GRANT 



side. General Lee had been twice defeated in his 
attempt to invade Northern territory. The resources 
of the North had hardly been touched ; its ports were 
open to commerce, its factories and workshops were 
running, and colleges had their usual attendance. 
But the Union cause had met with failures as well 
as successes. The Army of the Potomac that was 
defending the line of the Potomac and trying to break 
up the Confederate capital at Richmond, had met with 
bloody and discouraging defeats, which, if continued, 
might result in the failure of the War for the Union. 
The necessity for swifter action, however, was more 
political than military. The people were to be satis- 
fied and a half-loyal party to be silenced in their cries 
for peace at any price." 

To bring decisive military successes, the one thing 
needed was a single military head for all the armies 
in the field, so that the Union army would act in con- 
cert together. For the Confederates had been able, 
hitherto, to send parts of their army back and forth 
on their shorter interior lines wherever they were 
most needed, as was the case in Tennessee when 
Grant found his army confronted by Longstreet's 
Corps from Lee's army. 

Not only was the need apparent for one supreme 
head to prevent this lack of concert in action, but, by 
general consent, General Grant was the man for that 
place. 

After Grant's victory at Chattanooga Mr. Wash- 
burn, the same who was present at the first war meet- 
ing in Galena which the reader will remember that 



GRANT COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 171 



Grant attended, introduced a bill in Congress to re- 
vive the rank of lieutenant-general in the army. 
Only Washington had ever held the full rank, though 
the brevet grade had been conferred upon General 
Scott. 

In the debate v^hich followed the introduction of 
this bill Mr. Washburn said, " I am not here to speak 
for General Grant. No man with his consent has 
ever mentioned his name in connection with any po- 
sition. Every promotion he has ever received since 
he first entered the service to put down the rebellion 
was moved without his knowledge or consent." 

Mr. Howard of Michigan said, " Give us a live 
general who will, if properly supported, give us vic- 
tory upon the Rappahannock. Let us not be drag- 
ging along under influences such as have presided 
over the Army of the Potomac for these last many 
tedious months. The country is getting weary of it." 

Doolittle of Wisconsin said, " Grant has won seven- 
teen battles, captured one hundred thousand pris- 
oners and five hundred pieces of artillery. He has 
organized victory from the beginning and I want him 
where he can organize final victory." 

One of Grant's friends had a letter from him in 
answer to a question about his being a candidate for 
President, which he showed Mr. Lincoln. In it he 
had said that nothing was further from his wishes 
than to be President; and if he had been ambitious 
for it, he would not permit his name to be used, but 
was for Abraham Lincoln for President above all 
men and under all circumstances. 



172 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Mr. Lincoln was pleased and said, " I wanted to 
know, for when this Presidential grub once gets to 
gnawing at a man, nobody can tell how far it has got. 
It is generally a good deal deeper than he himself 
supposes." 

On the 26th of February the bill for reviving the 
rank of lieutenant-general was passed and received 
the approval of the President. Although the bill 
mentioned no name, no one but Grant was thought of 
in connection with the position. 

The President nominated Grant for the place, the 
Senate immediately confirmed his appointment, and 
the Secretary of War ordered him to report to the 
War Department as soon as possible. Grant started 
for Washington the next day. 

In the hurry of preparation, he found time to write 
to his friend Sherman an admirable letter, in which 
he said, " While I have been eminently successful in 
this war, in at least gaining the confidence of the 
public, no one feels more than I how much of this 
success is due to the energy, skill, and the harmonious 
putting forth of that energy and skill, of those whom 
it is my good fortune to have occupying subordinate 
positions under me. ... I want to express my 
thanks to you and McPherson as the men to whom, 
above all others, I feel indebted for whatever I have 
had of success. How far your advice and sugges- 
tions have been of assistance you know. How far 
your execution of whatever has been given you to do 
entitles you to the reward I am receiving you cannot 



GRANT COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 173 



know as well as I do. The word ' you ' I use in the 
plural, intending it for McPherson also." 

Grant wrote to no one else in the world in this 
manner, and Sherman answered in as admirable a 
letter as that received, saying, You do yourself in- 
justice and us too much honor in assigning to us so 
large a part of the merits which have led to your 
high advancement. . . . You are now Washing- 
ton's legitimate successor and occupy a position of 
almost dangerous elevation; but if you can continue, 
as heretofore, to be yourself, simple, honest, and un- 
pretentious, you will enjoy through life the respect 
and love of friends and homage of millions of human 
beings who will award you a large share for securing 
to them and their descendants a government of law 
and stability. I repeat, you do General McPherson 
and myself too much honor. At Belmont you mani- 
fested your traits, neither of us being near; at Donel- 
son you illustrated your whole character. I was not 
near, and General McPherson was in too subordinate 
a capacity to influence you. The chief characteristic 
in your nature is the simple faith in success you have 
always manifested, which I can liken to nothing else 
than the faith the Christian has in his Saviour. This 
faith gave you victory at Shiloh and Vicksburg. 
Also, when you have completed your best preparation, 
you go into battle without hesitation, as at Chatta- 
nooga." 

Grant quietly proceeded on his way to Washington, 
but the news got out, and the train on which he took 



174 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



passage was greeted with a storm of cheering and 
applause from the time he left until he reached Wash- 
ington on the 6th of March. 

He arrived in the capital in the afternoon and, in 
his unassuming way, asked for a room at the hotel. 
" I have nothing but an upper story room," said the 
clerk. " That will do," said Grant, and signed his 
name on the hotel register. 

When the superior clerk saw the name he almost 
prostrated himself in his desire to give him the best 
room on the first floor. 

"Who is that major-general?" said some one, on 
seeing his shoulder-straps with three stars, as he en- 
tered the dining-room for his supper. It was soon 
noised around that Lieutenant-General Grant was in 
the room, and the guests sprang to their feet, ex- 
claiming, "Where is he?" One of the guests 
mounted a chair and, swinging a napkin, cried out, 
" Three cheers for Lieutenant-General Grant." 
Cries of "Grant! Grant! Grant!" were called all 
over the room until, greatly embarrassed, he was 
obliged to get up and bow his acknowledgments. 
But that was enough for him; he escaped without 
finishing his meal, hungry as he was. 

Grant went at once to see Mr. Lincoln at the White 
House. He was not at first recognized by those out- 
side of the official circle. Grant and Lincoln had 
never met, but recognized each other without an in- 
troduction. Lincoln said, as he took Grant's small 
hand in his large and generous clasp, " I am glad to 
see you, General Grant." 



GRANT COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 175 



With the clasp of their hands there was sealed a 
silent contract between them to bring to an end the 
greatest rebellion of the world's history. 

The contrast between the two men was great. 
Lincoln, with his seamed and sorrowful face, on 
which was written the burdens of three years of a 
nation's cares and sorrows, towering in form above 
the small man of a placid but concentrated expression 
of countenance, was an impressive spectacle. 

When this meeting had taken place, the crowd that 
had been attracted to the White House by the news 
that Grant would be present, rushed upon him. With 
the heat of the room and the warmth of his reception 
by the excited crowd, perspiration poured down his 
face. Diffident and blushing like a girl, he was 
mounted on a sofa and shook hands with those that 
rushed to him from all over the East Room. 

After an hour he was relieved from his confusion 
by a message calling him to Mrs. Lincoln's side, with 
whom he made a tour of the room, Mr. Lincoln fol- 
lowing with a lady on his arm and an amused smile 
on his face at Grant's blushing embarrassment. 

Before Grant's departure the President made an 
appointment with him for the formal presentation of 
his commission on the morrow. " I shall make a 
short speech to you," said Lincoln, " to which I have 
an object in desiring you to reply; and that you may 
be properly prepared to do so, I have written what I 
shall say. I will read from my manuscript, an ex- 
ample which you may follow and read your reply." 

The next day, at one o'clock, the commission of 



1^6 A LIFE OF GRANT 



lieutenant-general was formally delivered by the 
President, with the following speech : — 

" General Grant, the nation's appreciation of what 
you have done and its reliance upon you for what 
remains to do in the existing great struggle, are now 
presented with this commission constituting you 
lieutenant-general in the army of the United States. 
With this high honor devolves upon you, also, a cor- 
responding responsibility. As the country herein 
trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain you. I 
scarcely need to add that with what I here speak for 
the nation, goes my own hearty personal concurrence." 

Grant had written his reply with a lead pencil on 
a half sheet of note paper. He was more embar- 
rassed in reading it than he had ever been in meeting 
an enemy in battle; but what he said could not have 
been improved : " Mr. President, I accept this com- 
mission with gratitude for the high honor conferred. 
With the aid of the noble armies that have fought 
on so many fields for our common country, it will be 
my earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expec- 
tations. I feel the full weight of the responsibility 
now devolving lipon me ; and I know that if they are 
met, it will be due to those armies and, above all, to 
the favor of that Providence which leads both nations 
and men." 

Lincoln was pleased with Grant and his unfeigned 
dislike of show and ceremony. He had had generals 
of various kinds; some who could speak well; others 
that looked well in an armchair, or on horseback, 
some with uniforms without a wrinkle; but here was 



GRANT COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 177 



a general without pretense, one of the plain, common 
people that he knew and loved so well; one who 
thought more of doing his work than of show. 

The next day a thousand invitations came to Grant 
to dine, but he accepted none and kept out of sight. 
The next day he went to see Meade at his head- 
quarters at Brandy Station. He spent the day in 
study of the Army of the Potomac and in convers- 
ing with Meade. The result of his study was a de- 
termination to make his headquarters in the field 
with that army, and to retain Meade in command. 

The next day, by order of the War Department, 
Grant was placed in command of all the armies. He 
told the President that it would take him nine days 
to put his Western army in shape to leave it and then, 
without accepting any of the invitations to dine or to 
meet officials, he started West again. Such swift 
decision and unhesitating action was a new thing to 
the East. The New York Tribune said, " He hardly 
slept on his long journey East, yet he went to work 
at once. Senators state with joy that he is not going 
to make war ridiculous by attempting to maneuver 
battles from an armchair in Washington." 

On his return to Nashville, Grant placed Sherman 
in command of the armies of the West and McPher- 
son in command of the Army of Tennessee. 

He was back in Washington again at the expira- 
tion of nine days and went to work at once to gather 
the reins of control of the armies in his hands. 

The armed forces of the enemy were at that time 
principally included in two great armies, then com- 



178 A LIFE OF GRANT 



manded by J. E. Johnston in the West and Lee in 
the East. 

By the whole bent of his forceful character Grant 
was committed to vigorous action, and upon taking 
command he had resolved upon aggressive and simul- 
taneous action in every part of the theater of war. 
No one better than he realized the great task before 
him. He was about to meet the incomparable Army 
of Northern Virginia; an army that had hitherto 
proved invincible. He was about to match his skill 
with that of Lee, the great master of the game of 
war, who had checkmated so many antagonists on the 
difficult chess-board of Virginia. 

Everything seemed to be in Grant's favor. He 
had reached his high command through no favorit- 
ism, but by work actually performed. The people 
and the government were ready to trust him, and all 
saw the necessity of supporting him heartily. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



THE ENCOUNTER IN THE WILDERNESS 

Grant began at once the reorganization of the 
army for the summer campaign. He confided his 
plans to no one but those who were in command to 
execute them. For three long years the Army of 
the Potomac had been trying to take Richmond and 
now, after terrible losses, was where it started from 
in the beginning. A person who wished to enter the 
enemy's lines for some business asked Mr. Lincoln 
for a pass to Richmond. 

" I should be glad to give you one,'* replied Mr. 
Lincoln, but it would do you no good ; my permits 
are not respected. I have given a quarter of a mil- 
lion passes to Richmond, and not one has ever got 
there, except as a prisoner of war." 

Some one asked Mr. Lincoln what he thought of 
Grant, and he answered: 

" He's got a grip like a bulldog; when he gets hold 
he will never let go." 

Grant had now planned a gigantic campaign, in 
which all the armies were to move simultaneously. 
Sherman, constituting the left wing of his gran4 
army, was to defeat and destroy, if possible, Johns- 
ton's army, then at Dalton, Georgia. Butler, with 
the Army of the James, was to operate against Peters- 

179 



i8o A LIFE OF GRANT 



burg and seize the southern communications of Rich- 
mond. The Army of the Potomac, for the center, 
was to make Lee's army its objective and follow it 
wherever it went. 

As Grant, in person, made his headquarters with 
the Army of the Potomac, we shall deal principally 
with that army in the narrative that follows. 

The enemy that Grant was to encounter, in his 
front, was the Army of Northern Virginia. It 
was commanded by Robert E. Lee, who had been in 
command of it since 1862 and had brought it to great 
fighting efficiency. His three army corps were com- 
manded by Longstreet, Ewell, and S. P. Hill. His 
army had blind confidence in Lee, and back of that 
the prestige and morale of many victories gained over 
the Army of the Potomac. An army with confidence 
in itself and its commander is, though inferior in 
numbers, a vastly more effective force than a larger 
one lacking that confidence. Napoleon, the great 
genius of war, declared that " the morale of an army 
was as three to one," or, in other words, was three 
times more effective as a fighting machine with than 
without that quality. 

Grant was determined to crush this finely tempered 
army of Lee's by rapid and remorseless blows and by 
superiority in numbers. 

On the 4th of May, 1864, after midnight, the Army 
of the Potomac began its march to open the great 
campaign. On the morning of the 5th of May a 
hundred thousand men of his army had crossed the 
Rapidan without encountering the enemy. Grant 



ENCOUNTER IN THE WILDERNESS i8i 



had now turned Lee's right flank, and both he and 
Meade felt confident that he would fall back on Rich- 
mond. 

Grant's army consisted of three corps commanded 
by Hancock, Warren, and Sedgwick; Burnside was 
in command of an independent corps. The eyes of 
an army are its cavalry. Sheridan, with two divi- 
sions of horse, led the march and kept watch to clear 
obstructions from the path of the vast column of 
Grant's infantry, while Torbet guarded its rear. 

The line of Grant's march, after crossing the Rapi- 
dan River, led through a region covered by a low 
growth of tangled woods called the Wilderness, where 
neither cavalry nor artillery could be used success- 
fully. 

When Lee found that Grant had turned his flank, 
he acted with surprising decision and swiftness. The 
center of Lee's lines was at Orange Court House. 
From this point the Orange Plank Road and the 
Orange turnpike run parallel with each other, and 
when he learned of Grant's movement, he hurled his 
army down these roads like a cannon ball, striking 
Grant's army when it was poorly prepared for battle. 
An orderly came back to Grant with intelligence that 
Warren had been attacked and was fighting. 
" Then," said Meade, " the rebels have left a division 
here to fool us while they concentrate towards the 
North Anna River." 

Shortly a dispatch came from Sheridan's cavalry, 
who were scouting in front. 

" They think Lee intends to fight here," said Meade. 



i82 A LIFE OF GRANT 



"Very well," said Grant; "let him be attacked 
wherever he appears, and vigorously, too." 

Ewell's corps had advanced on the turnpike early 
in the morning, and drove in Warren's pickets. The 
attack fell on Griffin's division, which at first drove 
everything in its front. It was simply the van of 
Ewell's corps in column. Had the situation been 
understood by the Union commander a disposition of 
forces might have been made which would have de- 
stroyed Ewell. The means employed were naturally 
feeble and in keeping with the misunderstanding. 
The disordered columns of Ewell re-formed on a 
wooded hill, where, being joined by the remainder of 
his corps, he at once resumed the battle. 

It was a strange and weird battle-field ; everywhere 
was a dense growth of scrub oaks and other sprawl- 
ing underbrush, and entangling vines, through which 
it was hard for a moving column to penetrate and 
impossible to keep its formation. A commander 
could only know where his lines were by the smoke 
of the muskets. Every advance was like feeling its 
way; while the foe lurked in ambush, the Union men 
betrayed their coming by the noise they made in ad- 
vancing. 

It so happened when Ewell resumed the battle that 
the right of Warren's corps was uncovered (unde- 
fended). Wright's division, which was to have cov- 
ered it, had not arrived, owing to the difficulty of 
making its way through the dense undergrowth. On 
this exposed flank, Ewell directed a furious attack. 
On Griffin's left was a division commanded by the 




GRANT AND MEADE IN THE WILDERNESS. 



ENCOUNTER IN THE WILDERNESS 183 

gallant Wads worth. It advanced to the sound of 
battle, but, while beating through the dense thickets, 
encountered a terrible fire from the concealed enemy. 
It illustrates the difficulty of advancing in this dense 
jungle that, there being no other guides, the direc- 
tions were given them by the points of the compass. 
The orders were to advance due west. Wadsworth, 
misunderstanding the order, advanced northwest, and 
this brought the enemy's fire on his unprotected flank. 
Crawford's division, on the left of W^adsworth, was 
driven back with the loss of two regiments. Thus 
began the battle. Warren, in this opening duel, had 
lost three thousand men. 

When Grant was satisfied that the enemy was in 
force and intended to fight in the Wilderness, he 
halted his column and made other dispositions to 
accept Lee's challenge of battle. Hancock's corps, 
which was southward from Chancellorsville, was re- 
called to unite with the rest of the army. 

Under some circumstances it would have been of 
still greater disadvantage for Grant to accept the 
gage of battle. But his army was clear of the river; 
his train, with its thousands of wagons, was safe in 
his rear; and he had not been surprised; though, un- 
doubtedly, he was disappointed in being obliged to 
fight a battle in the Wilderness. 

While Hancock's was marching to join the other 
corps. Hill's corps of the Confederate army at- 
tempted to cut him off from the main army by seiz- 
ing the Plank Road where it intersects with the 
Brock Road, which turns southward to Spottsylvania 



i84 A LIFE OF GRANT 

-~- « , 

Court House. If Hill should succeed he would cut 
Grant's army in two. 

Grant, foreseeing this danger, had directed a war- 
tried division of Sedgwick's corps, under Getty, to 
hold this position until Hancock's arrival. Getty was 
furiously assailed by Hill's corps in force, but stub- 
bornly held the position. His Vermonters were not 
easily stampeded and, returning shot for shot, were 
immovable. 

By three o'clock in the afternoon Getty heard the 
welcome cheers of Hancock's men, and knew the po- 
sition was safe. Hancock formed a double line of 
battle in front of the Brock Road, thus facing Hill, 
who was drawn up across the Orange Plank Road. 
He had begun to construct breastworks of earth and 
logs, when he got orders from Grant to advance, on 
Hill's and drive him back on the Plank Road. 

It was a little past three o'clock in the afternoon 
when Hancock attacked. The thickets were so dense 
that there could be but little connection of the lines 
of battle on either side. He attacked the enemy in 
what Lee justly describes in his report as " repeated 
and desperate assaults." The Union soldiers rushed 
upon the lines of the Confederates with defiant cheers, 
and were met by yells and deadly ans\^rering mus- 
ketry. The fight raged fiercely, but Hancock's men, 
driven back by the foe concealed in the thicket, re- 
turned their close-range fire by furious rushes. 

But all in vain their desperate valor. Their at- 
tacks were met with deadly close-range rifle-fire, and 
they were checked in every attempt to force the 



ENCOUNTER IN THE WILDERNESS 185 



enemy's lines. Not until eight o'clock did darkness 
come to stop the desperate contest. 

The dead lay thick in the darkling woods and the 
wearied soldiers rested on their arms, waiting to re- 
new the battle with the coming of another day. It 
had been thus far not so much a battle as a series of 
blind and desperate grapples to the death with a foe 
in ambush. 

When the battle was at its height, Grant sat placidly 
smoking and whittling at a pine stick. His attitude 
was stolid and calm. Aides came with excited mes- 
sages. He heard them, and then in low tones gave 
a few words of instruction. Occasionally he 
mounted his horse to look after doubtful things for 
himself, and give his attention where needed. 

Once an excited orderly rode furiously to head- 
quarters, saying that the Confederates had broken 
through Hancock's lines and General Meade was 
about to give orders to meet the supposed disaster. 
Grant was noticed whittling a stick, with long curling 
shavings falling from his knife; he did not even look 
up until Meade had spoken; then be began whittling 
the other way in little sharp clips, and looking up 
said, in low tones, but quickly and decisively, " It is 
not so; the enemy has not broken Hancock's lines." 
He had thought it over coolly, and had made up his 
mind that it could not be done, and held to that de- 
cision. Every officer who came into his presence took 
courage from his calm and cheerful demeanor. 

When General Wright rode up, he called out, 
" Hello, Wright ; I heard the Rebs had invited you to 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Richmond." He had heard that Wright had been 
repulsed, and smiled to see him safely at hand. 

All through the day Grant was apparently un- 
moved; but as he sat at his camp-fire that night, with 
the collar of his overcoat almost concealing his face, 
it was noticed that he looked haggard as though, now 
that the battle was suspended, he allowed himself to 
sorrow over the death of the many brave men who 
had fallen in the thickets that day. With the green 
leaves and the darkness for their winding sheet, and 
the mournful whispers of the tree tops, stirred by the 
breeze, for their requiem, the dead lay thick in this 
wild wilderness of tangled woods, the scene of Grant's 
first fight with the brave Army of the Potomac. 

Both armies had won and lost ground. The battle 
thus far was undecisive. 

Lee wired to Richmond : We maintained our po- 
sition against every efTort, until night. We have to 
mourn the loss of many brave officers and men." 

Grant sent no dispatch to Washington, but ordered 
an attack to be made at half -past four the next morn- 
ing. 

Lee also ordered an attack on the Union lines as 
soon as it was light. 



CHAPTER XIX 



THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS 

A BEAUTIFUL moming dawned on the ensanguined 
thickets. During the night Grant had learned that 
Longstreet's corps of the Confederate army was 
marching by way of Orange Court House to join 
Lee's army, and had ordered the opening attack made 
in order to strike the enemy before Longstreet's ar- 
rival. The Union lines now faced westward. Burn- 
side was soon to arrive and the lines ran from north 
to south in the following order: Sedgwick on the 
right; then Warren's, Burnside's, and Hancock's 
corps in the order named. 

The orders given for battle were very simple. 
They were these : " Attack along the entire line at 5 
o'clock." There was no chance for grand maneuvers 
on so difficult a field. The general direction of the 
army in the battle about to begin could be well enough 
defined; but its details, on account of the thickets, nec- 
essarily escaped the control of the superior officers. 
A colonel, standing on the right of his regiment, could 
not tell what was taking place on its left except by the 
sound or the smoke of its rifles rising above the jungle 
of bushes. Movements of the enemy were generally; 
learned only by actual collision. 

187 



i88 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Lee planned to deliver an overwhelming blow on the 
left of the Union army to drive it back and compel 
its retreat across the Rapidan River. It was impossi- 
ble for him to do this until the arrival of Longstreet's 
corps. 

To call Grant's attention from the blow that he 
planned to deliver on his left, early in the morning 
Lee attacked the Union right under Sedgwick. Thus 
before Grant attacked, Lee had delivered his first blow. 
Soon all along the whole line of five miles the battle 
raged. 

The attack that had been made on Sedgwick was 
easily repulsed and he was even able to advance his po- 
sition a few hundred yards. 

At five o'clock Hancock's and Warren's corps 
joined in the attack and a continuous roar of musketry 
was heard crashing all along the five-mile line, min- 
gling with the cheers and yells of fighting men, with 
their blood at white heat. 

Hancock had advanced with two of his right di- 
visions under the command of Birney, supported by 
Getty's tw^o brigades. With shouts they rushed upon 
the enemy. At the same time the brave General 
Wadsworth of Warren's corps, who was already in 
position to assail the enemy in flank, began to fight his 
way across Hancock's front on the Plank Road. Han- 
cock, who had furiously assaulted the Confederates 
as has been already narrated, broke the Confederate 
lines at all parts, and with cheers and furious musket 
fire, by six o'clock had driven the enemy before him 
for over a mile and a half, almost overrunning Lee's 



THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS 189 



headquarters. Had Hancock been able to con- 
tinue the pursuit, it would have cut the Confederate 
lines in twain, and have ended the campaign then and 
there. But his lines were disordered by his advance 
through the tangled thickets, and were little more than 
a mob of men; he was out of touch with his support- 
ing column, and stopped to gather his men together 
in some semblance of battle line before resuming his 
fight and advance. 

It shows how desperate Lee considered the situa- 
tion, when to remedy it he put himself at the head of 
a Texan division to lead a charge. But his devoted 
men refused to go forward until Lee went to the rear. 
He appealed to them, saying, My men of Texas, you 
must charge! " Then, as if inspired by their leader's 
dauntless spirit, they furiously charged the lines of 
Hancock and checked his advance. The gallant 
Wadsworth, who had already had two horses shot 
from under him, fell dead before this furious onset 
of the Confederates. Longstreet's corps had now 
reached the field and turned back the tide of battle 
that had threatened to sweep the Confederate lines in 
disaster of defeat. 

Their dead and wounded lay thick in the jungle of 
dwarfed pines and underbrush, over which the tide of 
battle surged. Squads of Confederates as prisoners 
constantly going to the rear, exchanged good-natured 
salutations with the Union men. 

One of them said : " You'uns run over we'uns in 
four rows, right smart, git! this morning." 

Another exclaimed, " Uncle Robert, I reckon, will 



190 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



take all you Yanks on a big excursion to Richmond, 
if you don't git back right smart ! 

At which our men replied, Don't worry about the 
special excursion, Johnnie ; we'll get there sure, soon as 
Pop Grant gets ready to bag the whole of you." 

Such and similar chaff passed between the men, with 
anything but ill nature in its tones. 

The desperate fighting continued. Grant, who was 
in military undress and without sword, sash, or belt, 
sat on a hillock at headquarters, still whittling and 
smoking, hearing reports of aides and orderlies as 
they hurried in. When the reports indicated Union 
disaster, he chewed at his cigar and let it go out. 
When one regiment had rushed out of line near head- 
quarters, he sprang to his horse and rode forward to 
see what the matter was. It proved they had been 
seized with a sudden panic, from having been sepa- 
rated from their brigade. 

He directed that the bridge upon which Burnside's 
corps had crossed the Rapidan be taken up and brought 
forward. When it was suggested that it might be 
needed, he showed the undaunted temper of his mind 
by saying, " One bridge and the ford is all we shall 
need if we have to go back." 

Longstreet had, meanwhile, come up and formed on 
the Plank Road. Though Hancock had captured 
some of Longstreet's men in his front and had in- 
formed Meade of the fact, yet neither of them knew 
that his entire corps was then in front of Hancock's 
line. 

A little before noon Longstreet advanced in two 



THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS 191 



heavy columns, striking Birney's tired men, who had 
been heavily engaged since early dawn, turned their 
flank, and drove them in confusion before him. In 
spite of Hancock's conspicuous gallantry in his at- 
tempt to rally his men, the w^hole line was driven back 
to the intrenchments they had left in the morning. 

While Longstreet was riding with his staff, accom- 
panied by Brigadier-General Jenkins, they were mis- 
taken for Union cavalry and were fired upon by their 
own men concealed in the bushes ; General Jenkins was 
killed and Longstreet was desperately wounded. The 
Confederates, for a time, were without a leader, the 
advance was checked, and Hancock was behind his in- 
trenchments. He sent Colonel Leasure to sweep the 
woods along his front and capture as many of the 
enemy as possible ; but the few that they met fell back 
without fighting. 

Grant, though disappointed, was not dismayed by 
the terrible conflict and his want of definite success. 
At three o'clock he ordered an advance to be made at 
six. Lee, meanwhile, intent on destroying the left 
flank of the Union army and compelling its retreat 
across the Rapidan, had himself taken command of 
Longstreet's corps, and when he had rallied Hill's 
broken column, put himself at the head of the two 
corps and made a furious attack on Hancock about 
four o'clock; thus anticipating the assault ordered by 
Grant. The long pause that followed Longstreet's 
successful attack had, meanwhile, given Hancock time 
to re-form, receive reinforcements, and strengthen his 
lines. 



192 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



The Confederate columns soon came dashing upon 
Hancock's barricades, with tremendous impulse, shout- 
ing and yelling as they crashed through the jungle to 
within a hundred yards of the Union lines; but here 
they halted and opened fire. Hancock's men, from 
behind their improvised rifle pits of logs and earth, 
easily repulsed the furious assault of the enemy, and 
for a time our men received but little harm. 

The attack, however, on the left of the Plank Road 
was especially desperate. Here Mott's division and 
Ward's brigade of Birney's division held the line, and 
the artillery of the Sixth Maine had been brought up 
and had opened a destructive fire upon the attacking 
Confederates, who made no headway until an unex- 
pected ally came to their assistance. Flames sprang 
up in the woods on the Union front, and with crack- 
ling roar, like an army of fire, came down upon their 
lines. The wind drove the blinding smoke and sufYo- 
cating heat into the faces of Hancock's men, which, 
added to the oppressive heat of the weather, became 
almost unendurable. 

The flames swept with resistless march before the 
advancing enemy and, reaching out its tongue of flame, 
ignited the resinous logs of the Union breastworks, 
which soon roared and crackled along their entire 
length. Hancock's brave men were obliged to fight 
the flames and the enemy at the same time, until at 
last, with singed hair and blistered hands and faces, 
after a whole line of intrenchments was a mass of 
flame, they gave way and fell back to their second line 
of log intrenchments. The enemy rushed forward 



THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS 193 



and attempted to take possession, but the impartial 
flames in turn drove them back ; the fire, however, soon 
consumed the logs and the enemy then advanced and 
planted their colors there. 

The fire swept on and reached the second line of in- 
trenchments, and this, like the first, was soon con- 
sumed. The Union men formed, in some places eight 
and ten ranks deep, the rear men loading muskets for 
the front ranks, and kept back the approaching enemy 
while their breastworks were a mass of flames. But 
finally, with blistered hands and faces and blinded and 
suffocated by the smoke, they gave way. 

Yelling with exultation, the enemy rushed upon the 
position and attempted to place their colors there. 
Their triumph was short-lived ; for the logs of the 
breastworks were soon consumed and then, with a 
shout like the rebel yell, Hancock's men charged the 
enemy with tremendous fury and swept them back 
from the field. At sundown his pickets were ad- 
vanced a half mile without opposition. Lee was 
meanwhile in great danger and distress. His men 
were confused and disorganized, and with all his in- 
fluence he could not restore order to his broken col- 
umns. These facts were not known at the time or 
Grant would have gained a decisive advantage. 

During this part of the conflict the Union men had 
exhausted their ammunition and had been obliged to 
gather cartridges from the dead and wounded, while 
their muskets at times became so hot that they could 
not hold them in their hands. The flames were the 
most terrible enemy the men encountered that day; 



194 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



and few survivors will forget this dramatic assault of 
the fire on Hancock's lines. 

Burnside, who was to have attacked at an early 
hour, did not engage the enemy until two o'clock. 
When he did advance it was to find them intrenched 
on the opposite side of a swampy ravine, and he failed 
to gain any advantage in the fight. After sundown 
the Confederates made an attack on the Union right, 
creating considerable confusion. They captured two 
brigades, and surgeons from a hospital in an old quartz 
mill came flying back to the rear ; but Sedgwick checked 
the assault, and night prevented the enemy from fol- 
lowing up their successes. 

When, just before midnight, there was a great din 
of musketry and yells from thousands of men, Meade 
said, " They have broken through Warren's lines and 
we may have to get out of this." But Grant was as 
placid and unmoved as usual, saying only, " I don't 
believe it." 

It proved to be only a Confederate yell and nothing 
more; they had expected an attack at a weak part of 
their lines and had set up a great shout to cover their 
weakness. 

The battle of the Wilderness was over without sharp 
or definite advantage on either side. The Army of the 
Potomac had held its own in the most terrible battle it 
had ever fought. The Confederates had fought with 
dauntless courage and great tenacity and skill; but 
they were never more to drive the Army of the 
Potomac back. 

Lincoln afterwards said that any other general w^ho 



THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS 195 



had ever commanded that army would have fallen back 
across the Rapidan, after such a battle. 

The next morning dawned, but neither army felt in- 
clined to attack the other behind its defenses. Lee 
had withdrawn his army within his intrenched posi- 
tion. A profound silence brooded over both armies. 
Grant was ready to continue the battle; but Lee, for 
once, was satisfied with the fighting he had already 
done, and it would have been a mistake to attack him 
behind his strong intrenched lines. 

Some of the men and officers of the Union army 
said, " It is the same old story ; now we will be starting 
back." 

When night came, orders were given, Fall in ; be 
quick ; don't make any noise." 

" Where are we going? " said some of the men. 

" We are going across the Rapidan, to Culpeper 
again." 

When the march began with the column headed to- 
wards Spottsylvania, a murmur of relief ran along 
the line, and the men said, " We are not going back." 

Warren's corps in the advance had marched behind 
the other corps and, coming behind Hancock's corps, 
were questioned, " Who are you? " 

" Warren's men." 

" For heaven's sake, where are you going? " 

" To Richmond," came the exulting reply. 

Cheering and singing, they marched on, saying, 
" We've a general of our own now who marches 
straight on." 

The burden of their marching song was now : 



196 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



" Ulysses leads the van. 
For we will dare 
To follow where 
Ulysses leads the van." 

Grant was leading the way on the by-roads in the 
darkness. When the men would discover who it was, 
there were cheers and exultant shouts such as were 
never heard after battle in that army before. Grant 
was grave and unsmiling, like one engaged in a serious 
affair. There was no show business " in his man- 
ner. 

At midnight, having reached Todd's Tavern, he 
wrapped himself in his blanket and slept. 

The Army of the Potomac had met with heavy 
losses, but it had also inflicted irreparable losses on its 
enemy. 

More desperate fighting was never known on this 
continent than the two days' battle on the 5th and 6th 
of May, 1864. 



CHAPTER XX 



BATTLING AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 

Grant learned on the afternoon of the 7th that 
Butler had surprised and captured City Point, and with 
the double purpose of getting his army between Lee 
and Richmond, and at the same time of protecting But- 
ler from a sudden movement of Lee to destroy him, 
Grant ordered his army by the left flank towards 
Spottsylvania. 

On the same day Sheridan had fought and beaten 
the rebel cavalry at Todd's Tavern, and this cleared the 
way for the movement. 

After the fighting of the first day in the Wilderness, 
many Confederates believed that the Army of the 
Potomac was retreating beyond the Rapidan. Gen- 
eral Gordon is said to have remarked to General Lee, 
** There is no doubt that Grant is retreating across the 
Rapidan." 

"You are mistaken," said Lee, "quite mistaken; 
Grant is not a retreating man." 

Later, however, he did not appear to be certain 
whether Grant was moving towards Spottsylvania 
Court House, or falling back to Fredericksburg In 
this uncertainty he ordered Longstreet's corps, then 
commanded by General R. H. Anderson, to march to- 
wards Spottsylvania to operate on Grant's right flank. 

197 



198 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



That zealous officer, finding the woods on fire and no 
good camping place, continued his march until he 
reached Spottsylvania, and on Warren's arrival he 
found the Confederates planted square across his path. 

Thus it was that blind chance, and not design, placed 
the enemy in position to spoil Grant's plan, 

Robinson's division of Warren's corps, after an 
all night's march over poor roads, fighting Confederate 
cavalry that obstructed the way, was in poor condition 
for battle. When it came out into the open field and 
was confronted unexpectedly by the enemy, it was 
thrown into confusion. Three of Warren's other di- 
visions were hurried up, and in turn drove the Confed- 
erates to a hill. Then it waited for the other corps to 
come up. 

Sedgwick arrived first, for Grant had retained Han- 
cock's corps to cover the general movement of the 
army. 

The day passed in preparation for battle. Han- 
cock's corps was placed on the right, Burnside's on 
the left, and in the center Warren and Sedgwick. Lit- 
tle fighting took place, but the enemy's sharpshooters 
were busy. General Sedgwick was at the front of his 
corps and, seeing some of his men dodging when the 
bullets were heard, said, laughing at the men, " Oh, 
don't duck; they couldn't hit an elephant at this dis- 
tance." But as he spoke, he fell, shot through the 
head by one of their bullets. 

Grant considered the loss of this grand old soldier 
as equivalent to the loss of a division of his army. 

Upon Sedgwick's death General Wright was given 



BATTLING AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 199 



command of the corps (the Sixth) formerly com- 
manded by Sedgwick. 

The intrenched hne of the enemy on the loth might 
be likened, in form, to an immense letter A. The 
course of the two lines forming its arms from its top 
to its base, was north and south. The west or left 
arm of this A was two miles and over in length, while 
its right or east arm was over three miles in length. 
The dash across the top of this immense A was formed 
by the Brock Road, which runs northeast from Spin- 
dler's Farm to Spottsylvania Court House, where it 
intersects with the Fredericksburg road, a short dis- 
tance inside of these intrenchments. These works had 
been made very strong by all the devices of military 
engineering, and were mounted by artillery. 

Such w^as the formidable position against which, 
w^ithout faltering, Grant was about to hurl his army, 
in attempts to break the enemy's lines. The necessity 
for an attack here was not so urgent as it was in the 
Wilderness; for there were good roads southward by 
wdiich the Union army might have turned Lee's posi- 
tion. 

The whole bent of Grant's genius was aggressive 
and he had determined to attack Lee's intrenchments ; 
and in the week of battles that followed he twice came 
so near an overwhelming success as to justify this reso- 
lution. From the first he had believed that his soldiers 
were more than equals of the enemy's, and, acting on 
this belief, he inspired the officers and men of his com- 
mand with the same confidence. Those generals who 
had previously commanded the Army of the Potomac 



200 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



had acted with a contrary belief, with depressing and 
disheartening results to that army. It was Grant's 
faith in success that was gradually, in spite of some ill 
fortune, inspiring the army with confidence in ultimate 
victory. 

Though Hancock was occupying a position on the 
evening of the 9th which swept down or enfiladed 
Lee's lines, Grant ordered his withdrawal to aid War- 
ren's corps in the attack he had planned on the 
enemy's works. In withdrawing, Barlow's division 
was attacked by Heth's Confederate division, and the 
Confederates were so much elated at their supposed 
victory, that Heth issued orders, countersigned by Lee, 
congratulating his troops. Hancock, in referring to 
this congratulatory order, grimly says, " Had not Bar- 
low's fine division received imperative orders to with- 
draw, Heth's division would have had no cause for 
congratulation." 

Through the morning hours there had been sharp 
skirmishing and artillery fire going on, as a prepara- 
tion in part for the impending battle. 

In the afternoon Warren with three divisions ad- 
vanced to attack the enemy's works. Tearing through 
a stunted growth of cedars with pike-like branches in- 
terlaced near the ground, his men, with splendid brav- 
ery, although disordered by the dense wood through 
which they advanced, with loud hurrahs reached the 
intrenchments of the enemy, and were met by a mur- 
derous fire which hurled them back. Two hours later 
the attack was renewed with great dash and with 
splendid courage and vim, Hancock joining in the at- 



BATTLING AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 201 



tack. There was a medley of cheers and answering 
yells of defiance, the hissing of bullets and crackle of 
musketry, as the Union soldiers tore away the abattis 
and reached the Confederate works. Some of the 
men were killed inside of the enemy's intrenchments, 
and among the mortally wounded was Colonel Rice, 
one of the brave defenders of Round Top at Gettys- 
burg. While lying wounded he was asked if anything 
could be done to make it easier for him, and he re- 
plied, " Yes, turn me with my face to the enemy." 

A private soldier also illustrated the spirit which 
inspired the ranks of the Union army. Desperately 
wounded, he was asked if anything could be done for 
him, and replied, " Yes, give me a drink of water and 
fix me so I can get one more shot at the Rebs." 

Another private of Warren's corps said, " When I 
saw our general among us in full uniform, I felt as if 
I could charge up two hills ; but when we came in sight 
of the Rebs and heard their yells and their bullets hiss- 
ing and buzzing, and the swish of the shot and shell, 
I wished the hill was greased so that I could slide back 
again." 

The attack was aimed at the west side of the A-like 
angle which projected a mile or more beyond the main 
Confederate works. Upton with his command had 
gone forward and his men, with enthusiastic shouts 
and cheers, rushed upon the enemy; the artillery and 
musketry that swept the plain could not stop them for 
a moment. They reached the intrenchments, pulled 
away the abattis with their hands, and after a hand-to- 
hand struggle with the bayonet, took possession of the 



202 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



works. The enemy rallied again and attacked them, 
but they stubbornly held their position until they were 
withdrawn in the night. 

If a proper supporting column had been in place to 
have poured through the break made by Upton, the 
damage to the Confederates would have been beyond 
repair. 

Grant, quick to recognize merit, summoned Upton 
to his headquarters to receive promotion for his gal- 
lantry. It was an impressive scene when, pale, ban- 
daged, and bleeding, Upton received from the hands 
of his general-in-chief his personal congratulations 
and compliments and promotion to the rank of briga- 
dier-general for his bravery and skill. Colonel Car- 
rol, also wounded while assaulting the salient, received 
the same well-deserved compliment and promotion. 

Mott's division, that was to have supported this at- 
tack, was told, it is said, that there were not over a 
hundred of the enemy behind the intrenchments to be 
attacked. As they approached the Confederate breast- 
works, the yells and appearance of the enemy proved 
that a force superior to their own was there. Experi- 
ence has repeatedly shown that among soldiers it is 
better to exaggerate the difficulties to be met, rather 
than to underrate them. No braver men were to be 
found in the army than Mott's. 

With this attack the fighting of the loth ended. 

Grant felt that an attack made on the Confederate 
lines, with better preparation, would prove successful, 
and so, notwithstanding the failures encountered, de- 



BATTLING AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 203 



temimed to assault with Hancock's corps, supported 
by the whole army. 

Thus far assaults had been made chiefly against the 
left of the enemy's position. It was now determined 
to attack his right center. The nth was passed in 
preparation. 

It was characteristic of Grant that after six days of 
terrible fighting, and under much greater discourage- 
ments than those that all former commanders of the 
Army of the Potomac had succumbed to, he did not 
for one moment hesitate in his purpose. He kept his 
heavy guns with him for attacking Richmond, and to 
all doubters he responded, " We are going through ; 
there is no doubt of it." 

Washburn, the Representative to Congress from 
Galena, had been to see him and on the morning of 
the nth was leaving for Washington. While wait- 
ing for an escort, he said, " What word have you to 
send?" 

" Nothing, except that we are fighting away here." 
" Had you not better send just a word? " suggested 
Washburn. 

" Perhaps so." 

And without a moment's thought he rapidly wrote, 
" We have now ended the sixth day of very hard 
fighting. The results, to this time, are much in our 
favor. Our losses have been heavy, as well as those 
of the enemy. I think the loss of the enemy must be 
greater. We have taken five thousand prisoners in 
battle, while he has taken from us but few, except 



204 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



stragglers. / propose to fight it out on this line if it 
takes all summer." 

The italicized part of this message was received at 
the North with great enthusiasm. Its deadly, relent- 
less sententiousness gave promise of final victory, for 
which the nation waited. 

At midnight on the i ith, in a heavy rain, Hancock's 
corps was moved into the open field, within twelve 
hundred yards of the position they were to attack. As 
far as practicable the ground had been examined by 
Hancock in person, as well as by the engineers, though 
the details of the works to be stormed were but little 
known. 

The engineers had learned that a house known as 
the McCool House was just inside the apex of the 
A-like salient, and if they followed a straight line by 
the compass it would carry them into the desired part 
of the Confederate fortified lines. 

At half-past four o'clock in the morning of the 12th 
a dim twilight enabled the commanders to see the com- 
pass, and the whole column moved forward. Bar- 
low's men, at double quick, overran the Confederate 
pickets without firing a shot and rushed upon the 
works. The intervals between the lines of the storm- 
ing column were closed up by their eager haste, and in 
one solid mass, with wild cheers, they broke into a run 
towards the enemy. 

They were met by a sharp volley from the intrench- 
ments, but it did not halt them for an instant. As they 
came in sight of the angle on the left of the enemy's 
works, without orders but by one common impulse. 



BATTLING AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 205 



they rushed toward it, pulled away the fallen trees and 
were, in a twinkling, upon the enemy's works. 

Cheers wild and fierce, the quick crack, crack, crack 
of musketry, were heard for an instant; and then, with 
one wild yell, Hancock's men poured like the crest 
of a mighty wave over the Confederates' intrenched 
line. 

Inside the works, the Union men were mixed in 
confusion caused by the hurried advance. There was 
but cramped space for rifle firing and the bayonet was 
used in the hand-to-hand grapple with the enemy, who 
gave way and surrendered in masses. The whole of 
Johnson's division of Ewell's corps was captured and, 
among them. General Edward Johnson and Brigadier- 
General George Stewart were made prisoners. Han- 
cock had known Stewart in the regular army before 
the war, and greeted him with extended hand, saying, 
"How are you, Stewart?" Stewart showed his bad 
breeding and temper by saying, as he drew himself up, 
" Sir, I am General Stewart of the Confederate army, 
and under the circumstances I refuse to take your 
hand." 

To which Hancock replied, " Under any other cir- 
cumstances. General, I should not have offered it." 

The victorious troops of Hancock swept down the 
reverse side of the intrenchments for over a mile to- 
ward Spottsylvania Court House, until they encoun- 
tered a heavy line of the Confederates behind strong 
works, running east and west across the base of the 
A-like salient. Lee hurried reinforcements to the 
point, and Hancock's men were driven back to the 



206 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



first intrenched line they had captured, but from 
thence they would not be driven. 

Hancock had driven his men like a huge wedge be- 
tween the right and center of Lee's lines and only 
needed greater impetus to the blow to inflict great dis- 
aster on Lee's army. 

Lee understood his peril and brought up reinforce- 
ments to retake the works. During the day he made 
five heavy assaults, as if determined to retake the posi- 
tion at any cost. It was the most desperate and bloody 
contest of the war. 

At one part of the line the Union men held the in- 
trenchments and planted their colors on the outside 
with a picket line inside of the works ; while at another 
the L^nion flag was planted on one side and the Con- 
federate flag on the other. Sometimes one or two of 
Hancock's men would mount the intrenchments and 
fire into the crowd of Confederates while their com- 
rades passed loaded muskets to them until they fell 
back, wounded or dead, and others would then take 
their places. Others would make a rush upon the Con- 
federates and pull them, bodily, over the works or, with 
the thrust of a bayonet, kill those on the opposite side 
of the log breastworks. Occasionally a few Confed- 
erates during a pause in firing would show a flag of 
truce and leap the barrier to get out of the deadly 
shower of bullets. The undergrowth of trees was 
withered by the bullets. 

Half a dozen times, says a participant, the Confed- 
erates stuck up something white to show that they 
were willing to surrender, and wanted to be taken 



BATTLING AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 207 



m out of the wet." But others were crowded in to 
take their places. Both sides had to stop at times 
and get space to fight in by throwing the dead aside. 

The terrible infantry fire is illustrated by the fact 
that a tree eighteen inches in diameter was cut down 
by bullets inside this angle of death. An oak tree 
twenty-two inches in diameter, says a Confederate 
general, was cut down by the musket fire, and fell 
about 12 o'clock, killing two men. 

A heavy rain storm came up about noon, but the 
fierce fight continued until darkness came to shut from 
sight the sanguinary scene. Our men could not ad- 
vance, and in turn checked every attempt of the enemy 
to drive them out. About midnight the Confederates 
gave it up and retired to an inner line that had been 
constructed during the fight for the Bloody Angle. 

The following week, the Union troops moved from 
point to point to find a weak spot in Lee's intrenched 
line. The watchful enemy delivered one of his light- 
ning-like counter blows. Part of the line which they 
attacked was defended by Tyler with some heavy ar- 
tillery men from the defenses of Washington, that 
had never before been under fire. They knew noth- 
ing about the bushwhacking tactics that had been 
adopted by veterans and, when attacked, rushed upon 
the enemy and with regular volleys put them to flight. 
Their loss was heavy, but to them, undoubtedly, be- 
longed the honor of repulsing the enemy. 

During the week it had rained almost continuously, 
making the roads impassable to artillery and by no 
means easy for marching men. 



208 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



While this fighting was going on, Sheridan with the 
cavalry made a raid all around Lee's army, tearing up 
railways, capturing a supply train, releasing four hun- 
dred prisoners of war, defeating a cavalry force under 
General J. E. B. Stewart, and pursuing the routed Con- 
federates into the defenses of Richmond, capturing 
a section of artillery and a hundred prisoners. In his 
official report he says, " Two small newsboys entered 
our lines and sold the Richmond newspapers to the 
officers and men." 

With great daring and skill, Sheridan reached 
Haxall's Landing on James River, communicated with 
Butler and drew a new supply of rations, and, after 
making his cavalry a terror to the Confederates, made 
his way again with a large train of wagons toward 
Grant's army. The cavalry was no longer a joke with 
the Army of the Potomac, but a help, and made it 
safe for Grant to move his supply trains. 

On the 23d Sheridan encountered the enemy near 
Cold Harbor, and was hard pressed by them. Grant 
sent him word to hold his position, and he fought ob- 
stinately until the next morning, when infantry of 
Grant's army arrived to help him. 



CHAPTER XXI 



STILL FIGHTING AND MARCHING ON 

Grant now received such news of his other armies 
as would have disheartened any but the most coura- 
geous and resolute natures. Banks, in Louisiana, had 
been sadly defeated in his Red River campaign; Sigel 
had been badly whipped in the Shenandoah Valley; 
while Butler, in attempting to enter Richmond by its 
back door, had been vanquished at Druray's Bluff. 
Thus, in one season of operations, his expectations 
that all his armies, by working in harmony together, 
would achieve a general victory were shattered. 

He spent not one moment in gloomy regrets or in 
fault-finding with his subordinate generals, who had 
failed, but, apparently as confident as ever, made other 
plans and directed their execution. 

On the night of the 21st of May, 1864, Grant con- 
tinued his movement to the left by marching one corps 
back of the others, which were stationary, and then 
another and another in the same manner, with a simi- 
lar sidelong crawl which the Confederates did not 
fancy. 

Both the Union and Confederate armies were on the 
march toward the North Anna River, and on the 23d 
the Army of the Potomac reached the northern banks 

209 



210 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



of that stream, to find Lee planted on the opposite 
side. 

Warren's corps crossed at Jericho Ford, and re- 
pulsed an attack from the enemy with heavy loss to 
the assailants. In attempting to move around War- 
ren's flank the Confederates lost a thousand men from 
their flanking column, which, with its commander, 
was captured. Hancock crossed the river with con- 
siderable fighting, when the enemy fled from their 
intrenchments. 

Lee, however, with great skill managed to push his 
center between the two wings of Grant's army and 
checkmated him; for the position of Lee was so un- 
promising for an attack that Grant withdrew his 
army, on the 26th. 

On the 27th, after a magnificent march of twenty- 
two miles, the head of Grant's column reached the 
Pamunkey River, captured and dispersed the Confed- 
erates guarding its passage, and Grant with his whole 
army crossed that river by night. Here it received 
new supplies by water-craft from the Chesapeake Bay, 
and gained a new base for supplies. 

The army was now in a country familiar to the 
veterans of the Army of the Potomac who had served 
with McQlellan in the Peninsular Campaign. Lee had 
taken a position in advance of the Chickahominy, and 
w^as now literally fighting for Richmond, for the smoke 
of that city could be seen by Grant's advance. 

The Richmond newspapers no longer scoffed at 
Grant, or spoke of his luck, but realized that Lee, with 
all his genius, had at last met his match; that he was 



STILL FIGHTING AND MARCHING ON 211 



a general who would not turn back, but who advanced, 
and delivered repeated battle which, if continued, 
would be fatal to the Confederacy. 

General Hill at this time in a letter to Beauregard 
wrote : " It is arrant nonsense for Lee to say Grant 
cannot make a night march without his knowing it. 
Has he not slipped around him four times already?" 

Another Confederate officer wrote, " It is admitted 
that Lee has at last met a foeman who matches his 
steel. . . . From first to last Grant has shown 
great skill and prudence combined with remorseless 
persistency." 

The tone of Grant's communications with Wash- 
ington was so different from that of former generals 
commanding that army that it was a revelation to the 
officials there, and to the country. It carried with it 
an air of confidence, never before shown by any com- 
mander of the Army of the Potomac. 

" Lee's army," he said, " is really whipped. The 
prisoners we now take show it unmistakably. A bat- 
tle with it outside of intrenchments cannot be had. 
Our men feel that they have gained the morale over 
the enemy, and attack him with confidence. I may 
be mistaken, but I feel that our success over Lee's 
army is already assured." 

There was no whining, or complaint, but the air of 
conviction of one who sees the end and victory com- 
ing. This had a moral effect, even in official circles, 
difficult to describe. 

The Chickahominy is one of the natural defenses of 
Richmond ; a wet ditch of its outer fortifications. As it 



212 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



was Grant's plan to compel Lee to retire within his 
defenses, as he had Pemberton at Vicksburg, it be- 
came necessary for him to cross that sluggish and 
swamp-fringed stream. To avoid encountering Lee's 
whole army in doing this, he made a move to the left 
and found the enemy behind Cold Harbor, in a thick 
wood, to reach which it would be necessary to cross an 
open field to the attack. 

Near 4 o'clock on the afternoon of June ist a spir- 
ited attack was made, and Wright's corps (the Sixth) 
captured the first line of the Confederate rifle-pits and 
six hundred prisoners. The second line was found so 
difficult to attack successfully, that the Union army 
paused and lay on their arms for the night. Grant 
lost here about two thousand men, but he secured the 
possession of Cold Harbor, which it was important to 
hold in order to effect a passage across the Chicka- 
hominy and compel Lee's retirement within his in- 
trenchments at Richmond. 

June the 3d Grant ordered another attack, and Han- 
cock's, Wright's, and Smith's army corps went for- 
ward to assault the enemy's strongly intrenched posi- 
tion. 

The assault was made with great courage and in 
proper soldierly manner. Barlow, of Hancock's 
corps, captured a portion of the Confederate works, 
and planted his colors there, but was driven out; but, 
nothing daunted, he intrenched under a heavy fire 
within seventy-five yards of the hostile rifle-pits. Gib- 
bon also advanced his men with great bravery, and 
young Colonel McMahon mounted the breastworks of 



STILL FIGHTING AND MARCHING ON 213 



the enemy with a few of his brave men, only to fall 
dead beside the flag that he had planted there. 
Wright's corps, with equal gallantry and courage, as- 
saulted the main line, without success and with terri- 
ble loss. Smith, with the i8th corps, bravely, but un- 
successfully attacked, and fell back with terrible loss 
of his brave men, and his divisions shattered by the 
most frightful fire of artillery and musketry. 

The loss was great, and Grant ordered the attack to 
cease. 

It was a great mistake of Grant's to order this 
second attack. Some six thousand men, the flower 
of the gallant Army of the Potomac, fell in this awful 
battle which lasted but a few moments and, as Grant 
afterwards said, " with no compensating advantage." 
He always regretted ordering this assault; for, as he 
said in his final report, it was the only general at- 
tack made, from the Rapidan to James River, which 
did not inflict upon the enemy losses to compensate for 
our own." 

Grant was simply human in desiring to break 
through the enemy's outer line and to shorten the ter- 
rible work of destroying the enemy. 

With the coming of night the two armies lay so 
near each other that their pickets got intermingled, and 
small fights occurred constantly along the line. 

Grant had learned a sorrowful lesson; he was not 
a man who expressed his regrets in mere words ; but, 
after this, he was more economical of his soldiers, and, 
from that time on, never wasted a life in experiment. 

He had hoped to deal a paralyzing blow to 



214 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Lee north of Richmond, and had been repulsed. He 
did not, however, find fault with others for his fail- 
ures, but, as we have seen, took a proper part of the 
blame on himself. 

Finding his attempt to deal Lee a disabling blow 
north of his capital impracticable, he determined to 
attack Lee's communications from the south, and to 
shut his army up in Richmond, from which it must 
come out and fight him on equal terms or starve. 

Li a report made to W'ashington about this time he 
said, I now find, after thirty days of trial, the enemy 
deems it of first importance to run no risk with the 
armies they now have. They act purely on the de- 
fensive behind breastworks, or feebly on the offensive 
immediately in front of them, where in case of 
repulse they can instantly retire behind them. With- 
out a greater sacrifice of human life than I am willing 
to make, all cannot be accomplished that I had de- 
signed outside of the city. The feeling of the two 
armies now seems to be that the rebels can protect 
themselves only by strong intrenchments ; whilst our 
army is not only confident of protecting itself without 
intrenchments, but that it can beat and drive the enemy 
wherever and whenever found without this protec- 
tion." 

Thenceforth, in the campaign that followed, he op- 
posed defensive works to those of the enemy, occa- 
sionally making sallies from them to capture the 
enemy's communications, until at last the Confed- 
eracy crumbled and fell, though always fighting 
bravely. 



STILL FIGHTING AND MARCHING ON 215 



From the Rapidan to the James, in the sanguinary 
battles which I have briefly sketched in preceding 
pages, Grant had lost in killed and wounded and pris- 
oners over fifty thousand men. Such a loss seems 
terrible, even in words; but how much more terrible 
was it in reality ! 

It was a part of the great price, to be paid in human 
life and suffering, for the redemption of this noble 
Republic that we love, from disunion and slavery. It 
seemed true that every drop of blood drawn by the 
lash was to be paid by another drawn by the sword. 

On the night of June 12th Grant crossed the Chicka- 
hominy, made a rapid march of fifty-five miles to 
James River in two days, with the purpose of placing 
his army south of Richmond, seizing Petersburg if 
possible, and then shutting Lee's army up in Richmond, 
as he had Pemberton's in Vicksburg. 

For two days Lee lost Grant's army; and bewil- 
dered by its being whisked almost mysteriously out of 
sight without his knowing its whereabouts, he wired to 
his generals, " Where is Grant ? Find out where the 
Federal army is." An army of one hundred thousand 
men had disappeared as though it were but a single 
platoon. 



CHAPTER XXII 



ON TO PETERSBURG 

In his endeavors heretofore Grant had made re- 
peated turning movements to drive Lee from his in- 
trenchments that covered Richmond. While the ad- 
ministration at Washington had not dictated to him 
in his overland campaign, yet it was well understood 
that he had deferred to the well-known wishes of those 
in authority at Washington, that the Army of the 
Potomac should, in its movements against Lee, at the 
same time guard the national capital. In so doing 
he had labored under many disadvantages natural to 
such a situation. While the country in which he had 
fought was largely unfamiliar to him, Lee knew all 
its paths and byways. The inhabitants were his 
friends, guides, and spies. Moving on interior lines, 
his army was more compact and easier to handle than 
Grant's. He could quickly gather it and strike his 
enemy's extended lines, and then retire to his defenses 
if not successful. Grant had trains with thousands of 
wagons to protect as he moved. Lee was less encum- 
bered and moved light. He understood and fully used 
his advantage in operating on interior lines. 

When, on the 13th, Lee discovered that Grant had 
withdrawn from his front, he retired his army to- 
wards Richmond. 

216 



ON TO PETERSBURG 217 



Napoleon, the great master of war, declared that a 
change of base was " the ablest maneuver taught by 
military art." It is universally acknowledged that 
Grant made this operation of great delicacy with mas- 
terly ability. In his movement to the James he had 
abandoned the direct defense of Washington, as we 
have seen; for it is sometimes deemed best, in the de- 
fense of a place, to appear to leave the point to be 
guarded, rather than to remain in its front. His moral 
firmness in moving to the south side of the James was 
as much to be admired as his method of execution. 

When on the 12th Grant began this march, he had 
sent Warren to take the lead in order to mask and de- 
fend the movement, by making believe that he was 
about to advance on Richmond by the route of the 
White Oak Swamp. After crossing the Chickahominy 
at Long Bridge, he contrived to hold the roads by 
which Lee might disturb the movement across the 
James River, or learn what was really going on. Lee 
intrenched his advance in front of Warren as though 
he was expecting an advance on Richmond from this 
direction. By this move, and by other means. Grant 
concealed his purpose so well that Lee did not know 
what he was doing until it was already executed. 

One of the notable minor achievements of crossing 
the James was a bridge built on boats, called a pontoon 
bridge, 210 feet in length. The river at this point 
had a very swift current, and a tidal rise and fall of 
four feet. The bridge was begun by the regular en- 
gineer corps at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and finished 
by midnight of the 13th. 



2l8 



A LIFE OF GRANT. 



The whole movement had been thus far a brilliant 
success. On the 14th Grant wired to Washington, 
" Our forces w^ill commence crossing the James to- 
day, the enemy show no signs of having brought up 
troops to the south side of Richmond. I will have 
Petersburg secured, if possible, before they get in 
much force." 

The President received the news with joy, and on 
the 15th he telegraphed to Grant, " I have just re- 
ceived your dispatch of i p.m. yesterday. I begin to 
see it. You will succeed. God bless you all." 

Lee, meanwhile, was so deceived by Grant's blind- 
ing movements, that he believed he intended a direct 
attack on Richmond, and it was not until the 17th that 
he learned where Grant's army was. 

Warren's corps, with Wilson's cavalry, having ac- 
complished its purpose of deceiving Lee, withdrew and 
by midnight of the i6th the whole Army of the 
Potomac, with all its artillery and immense trains, was 
south of James River; while Lee was holding his army 
on the north side, to protect Richmond from an attack 
which he believed was coming. 

Lee in his uncertainty, as late as the 17th wired Gen- 
eral Beauregard, "The Fifth Corps (Warren's)' 
crossed the Chickahominy at Long Bridge on 13th 
. . . that night it marched to Westover . . . 
have not heard from it since." In the afternoon of 
the same day he wired W. H. F. Lee, " Push after 
the enemy and try to find out what has become of 
Grant's army." 

The next important move of Grant's was to seize, if 



ON TO PETERSBURG 219 



possible, Petersburg. That my readers may un- 
derstand the importance of the capture of that Httle 
city, I will explain: It stood in its relation to Rich- 
mond like an outlying fortress pushed out on its flank, 
protecting the great lines for supply of that city and 
Lee's army. The Lynchburg Railroad, James River 
Canal, and Danville Railroad run into Richmond from 
a westerly and southwesterly direction. If Lee could 
hold Petersburg, he could repel any force threatening 
these lines by which his army was fed. Without these 
lines his army could not protect Richmond, for it would 
starve. If Grant could capture the place it would com- 
pel Lee to abandon it and retreat into the interior of 
the South. 

It is necessary to understand this, as Grant's 
whole campaign that follows, until it closed at Appo- 
mattox, centered here in the attempt to take from the 
Confederates these lines of supply. They were Lee's 
life lines; he could not live without them any more 
than a man can live with a rope drawn tightly around 
his throat. 

On the 15th an expedition under General W. F. 
Smith left Bermuda Hundreds with instructions to at- 
tack Petersburg as soon as possible. On arriving be- 
fore that place on the 15th, he spent most of the after- 
noon making preparations, and it was not until seven 
o'clock that he began his attack. He then advanced 
w^ith a heavy line of skirmishers and, under a sharp 
fire, captured the line and several hundred prisoners. 
Instead of pushing on and completing the capture of 
the town, he rested until morning before resuming the 



220 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



battle. Grant was, meanwhile, hurrying Hancock's 
corps to his assistance. 

When Hancock arrived he joined Smith in the at- 
tack. The whole force in the intrenchments of Peters- 
burg, the evening before, when Smith had made his 
first attack, was only about 2,400 men, and most of 
them were old men and boys. Smith had 16,000 men. 

General Beauregard had urged Lee to send troops 
enough to defend Petersburg, as Beauregard was 
afraid that in withdrawing from before Richmond, 
Grant meant an attack on that place. Lee was not, 
however, convinced that Richmond was not to be at- 
tacked, and sent Hoke's division only for its defense. 
Beauregard stripped his own lines also in front of But- 
ler at Bermuda Hundreds and sent them to the defense 
of Petersburg. 

Thus it was that when Hancock and Smith resumed 
the attack they met men of a different metal than those 
they had encountered the day before. Though Peters- 
burg had been reinforced by men from Lee's heroic 
army, yet the Union force outnumbered them and 
there was still a chance for its capture. But Lee, now 
fully informed, understood his peril and heavily rein- 
forced the line. 

Hancock took command and ordered Generals Bir- 
ney and Gibbon, in command of divisions, that all 
points between their positions and the Appomattox 
should be taken by daylight. These officers seem to 
have made but feeble attempts to carry out his instruc- 
tions and when, later, they made reconnoissance they 
found the enemy occupying strong positions at all 



ON TO PETERSBURG 221 



points. When the Ninth and Fifth corps arrived they 
made an assault and the Confederates were driven 
back for some distance along the entire line. The 
fighting ceased late in the afternoon, and in spite of 
repeated sallies of the enemy to regain their ground, 
the Union men held their positions. 

The next morning the attack was renewed by Burn- 
side and Hancock. At early dawn Potter, of 
Burnside's corps, formed the brigades of Griffin and 
Curtain in a ravine close to the enemy's works. The 
commands were given in whispers; without firing a 
shot they dashed over the enemy's intrenchments and 
found its defenders asleep with their arms in their 
hands. It was a great surprise. 

They captured in this gallant affair five flags, four 
pieces of artillery, 1,500 stand of small arms and 600 
Confederates. The ground in the ravine was covered 
by fallen timber, which made it difficult for Potter to 
follow up his success, but he pushed on until he found 
the enemy in intrenchments near the Appomattox 
River in rear of Petersburg. An attack was made on 
this line during the day, but without success. Later 
an attack was made by the 59th Massachusetts and a 
part of the intrenchment and a flag and about a hun- 
dred prisoners were captured. But after heavy losses 
they were driven out again. In the night the Confed- 
erates withdrew to an interior line five hundred yards 
farther back. 

Late on the evening of the 17th an attack was or- 
dered by Meade for the next morning. Several im- 
portant advanced positions were gained. Another ad- 



222 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



vance was made late in the afternoon and positions 
gained close up against the enemy's intrenchments. 

The Union army here intrenched, and in a short 
time a strong system of works was constructed behind 
which the line could be held by a part of the Army 
of the Potomac, while the remainder could be used 
for offensive operations on the left. 

Providence seemed to have overruled Grant's plan 
for the capture of Petersburg, in order to make Lee's 
final overthrow more complete. For had Petersburg 
fallen at that time Lee would undoubtedly have aban- 
doned Richmond and retired into the interior of the 
South, where he could more easily feed his army and 
indefinitely continue the war. 

The incessant struggles of the heroic Army of the 
Potomac for a month, in close and deadly struggle 
with an intrenched foe, had exhausted both officers 
and men. A majority of the gallant officers that had 
really led their men in battle were killed or wounded. 

The army was now about to settle down to compara- 
tive rest. I say comparative, for from an ordinary 
standpoint there was but little rest, even in holding 
an intrenched line in front of such men as composed 
Lee's army. 

The army ow^ed its hopeful spirit to the fact that it 
was largely composed of boys under nineteen years of 
age, many of them of the age, or younger, than those 
who read these pages; boys animated by patriotic de- 
votion to the nation they had been taught to love. 

The North was impatient of delay; it had believed 
that, under the generalship of Grant, Lee's army 



ON TO PETERSBURG 



223 



would be quickly vanquished. It was sickened and 
horrified at the awful losses the army had sustained 
from the Rapidan to James River. 

There is " many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip," 
and but for unaccountable blundering Petersburg 
would have been captured, Lee's army would have re- 
treated, and a most brilliant campaign would have 
been the result. It is hard to fix the blame for such 
failures; but it seems to the writer that Providence 
overruled in disappointing Grant, in order to make the 
final overthrow of the Confederates more complete. 

The press of the North (that part of it that was in 
real sympathy with the Confederates) had bitter 
sneers about Grant, but the loyal press had praise. 
Grant made no explanations or reply to censure, but, 
with his usual self-restraint and reticence, held his 
peace and calmly went on with his work of organizing 
final victory and bringing to the nation enduring peace. 

Lee understood Grant's difficulties and estimated 
him justly. Once, when some of his officers were 
sneering at Grant's management of his campaign, 
Lee, who like Grant was a man of few words, in- 
terrupted to say, I think Grant has managed his 
affairs remarkably well." 

There was much criticism and clamor at the North 
against Grant, but it did not swerve him from his 
purpose. He knew that though the tide of battle 
might ebb and flow, yet with his attaining his position 
south of James River, the final defeat of Lee and the 
overthrow of the Confederacy was assured. 

He reminded his Northern friends that the Confed- 



224 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



erates were now in two grand armies under Lee and 
Johnston, and that neither of them dared to risk a 
battle outside of their fortifications. " To take such 
is a matter of time, or else involves terrible destruc- 
tion of human life." He added, " If the rebellion is 
not perfectly and thoroughly crushed, it will be the 
fault and through the weakness of the people of the 
North." 

When Grant had crossed to the south of James 
River, clear-sighted men attached to the Confederate 
cause saw plainly, as did Grant, that the destruction 
of the Confederacy was only a question of time. 
General Ewell of the Confederate army declared, 
when Grant swung his army across James River, that 
it was of no use fighting any longer. 

It was in the face of discouragements and public 
clamor against him that Grant's strongest character- 
istics came out. Then he preserved silence, shut his 
teeth, and went resolutely to his task. 



CHAPTER XXIII 



THE INVESTMENT OF PETERSBURG 

The lines on Grant's unreadable face had grown 
deeper and its expression sterner than when he first 
entered the service as a colonel. His shoulders 
stooped still more, as though the burdens laid upon 
them by the nation had weighed heavily. His life at 
City Point, where he made his headquarters, was as 
simple as though he was still a second lieutenant in- 
stead of lieutenant-general. He wore a private 
soldier's blue blouse and trousers, with nothing to 
designate his rank but the shoulder straps with its 
four stars. At first his headquarters was in a tent, 
and afterwards in a stockaded log hut of two rooms ; 
the front room was his office, with a pine table for a 
desk. The rear room was his bedroom and con- 
tained a cot bed, two or three folding camp chairs, 
and a tin basin on a tripod. There was much less 
parade and show than at the headquarters of many 
colonels of his army. His staff ate at the same table 
with him and, as he was absolutely indifferent about 
what he ate, the meals were not luxurious by any 
orders of his. He did not discuss his plans with any 
one, and one who knew him said, " He shut up like a 
box turtle " when any one attempted to discuss them 
with him. 

225 



226 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



He liked a good story, but would not tolerate vul- 
garity. One who was about to inflict such a story, 
said as a preface, As there are no ladies present — " 
when Grant interrupted, ''No, hut there are gentle- 
men/' He never swore ; to some one who said that he 
could not understand how it was that, serving so 
long as a soldier, he had never acquired the habit, 
he replied, " I did not like it when I was a boy and 
saw the folly of it when I became a man. 
I could never see the use of swearing. . . . To 
say the least, it is a great waste of time." 

Possibly Grant never enjoyed himself more than 
wdien with his family. His oldest boy, Fred, now 
General Grant, accompanied him in his campaign be- 
fore Vicksburg. It shows Grant's equipoise of mind 
that he did not fret or worry about him during the 
campaign. 

While at City Point his wife and children made 
him several visits. One morning an officer who had 
come to Grant's quarters with dispatches found him 
in a rough and tumble wrestling match with his two 
boys, laughing, and apparently enjoying it as much 
as the boys did. 

Meanwhile the siege went on. The army was 
mostly behind forts and rifle-pits. Let my young 
readers imagine thousands of men behind these de- 
fenses, reaching for miles, right and left. These 
defenses were simply wide ditches with the soil thrown 
out towards the enemy in front. Logs were put 
along the top of the rifle-pits and so arranged as to 
protect the heads of the soldiers while firing through 



THE INVESTMENT OF PETERSBURG 227 



loop-holes under them. These were called head-logs. 

A soldier seldom exposed his head above the head- 
logs of these defenses, but looked out from under 
them. Sometimes, when a raw recruit in a spirit of 
bravado got on top of the rifle-pits, he would fall 
back, shot dead by the watchful enemy. A company 
of veterans would do much more effective duty than 
one made up of new men, with less expenditure of 
life. 

At some parts of the line, however, there was an 
understanding between the men of both armies, that 
they would not fire upon each other; and these in- 
formal truces were seldom violated without giving 
some kind of warning. 

Generally the men on duty in the rifle-pits had their 
tents at a safe distance in the rear, sometimes behind 
a hill or in the woods. Their food was usually 
cooked there and brought to them. And they passed 
to and from their tents, either in the night, or by a 
broad ditch (with the earth thrown out in such a 
manner as to protect those moving back and forth) 
called a covered way. 

Grant had intended to extend the lines of his army 
to the W eldon Road ; but on his attempting to do this 
the Confederates showed fight. With this purpose 
in view, on the 22nd of June, Hancock's and Wright's 
corps were moved to the left. An opening was left 
between the two corps, and between them the watch- 
ful enemy pushed Hill's corps. The first intimation 
of this was received by a destructive fire upon the 
flank of Barlow's division, which caused them to 



228 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



fall back in confusion. Mott saw what was taking 
place and also got quickly back to his former position. 
In falling back so quickly, he was unable to give notice 
to Gibbons' division, which being suddenly attacked 
in the rear, fell back, abandoning a battery of artillery. 
The Confederates turned the guns upon Gibbons' 
men and, after capturing 1,700 prisoners, again re- 
tired behind their defenses. 

The next morning, however, Hancock's and 
Wright's corps both advanced and took the position 
from which they had been driven. Wright's corps 
was formed on the left of Hancock's, facing the 
Weldon Railroad, with its pickets thrown out close 
to the road. Two strong forts, one called Fort 
Davis and the other called Fort Sedgwick — com- 
monly known among the soldiers as Fort Hell," 
were built on the line of the Jerusalem Plank Road. 
The Union works between the Norfolk Railroad, then 
in the possession of the Union troops, and the Wel- 
don Railroad, which they were soon to capture, were 
ended by one of these forts, before mentioned, which 
delivered a sweeping fire down the broad ravine 
along which the Union rifle-pits were extended. 

The Confederate breastworks were close up to them, 
and there was a tacit agreement here between " Rebs " 
and " Yanks " that they would not fire upon each 
other during the daytime, and so the pickets of both 
sides passed to and from their rifle-pits in plain sight 
of each other. At night, however, this truce was not 
in force, for firing had to be kept up to guard against 
surprise. There were times, however, when the 



THE INVESTMENT OF PETERSBURG 229 



musketry and artillery fire was constant, but it was 
mostly at night. 

The firing was more severe at all times on the lines 
of Burnside's corps than elsewhere, being kept up night 
and day. There were several causes for this, the 
principal one being that there were several negro 
regiments in that corps, and towards these the 
Southern soldiers showed especial bitterness, for they 
regarded black men as fit only for slaves, and seemed 
determined to make them feel that they were not 
to be treated as soldiers. The black soldiers re- 
turned this hatred in full measure. They felt justi- 
fied in doing so by the way in which colored soldiers 
had been treated. Forrest, at the surrender of Fort 
Pillow, had murdered the whole garrison of blacks, 
and since then the war cry of the negro troops was, 
" Remember Fort Pillow." So when an unusual 
racket of firing was heard along the line of Burn- 
side's corps, it was known that the black troops were 
in the intrenchments and were exchanging shots with 
the Confederates. 

Another cause of this bitterness was that there were 
two Maryland brigades, one Union and the other 
Confederate, opposing each other here, and between 
enemies from the same state there was naturally a 
great deal of ill-feeling and no compromise. 

An Irish private of the Union Maryland regiment 
learned that his son was in the Maryland regi- 
ment opposing him, and sent word for his son to meet 
him on the picket line; this was done. While the 
conference between father and son was taking place, 



230 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



one of the Confederates called out, " Sa}^ it's too 
doggoned bad that you and your son should be fight- 
ing each other; you ought to be over here with us." 

" No," said the patriotic Irish soldier, " he'd ought 
to be over here fighting for the Union, v^ith me." 
That night the son deserted to the Union lines. 

Desertions from the Confederate lines were con- 
stant. Men who had fought bravely for that cause 
saw that it was hopeless and refused to risk their lives 
further. 

There was a piece of woods between the con- 
testants at one part of the line, from which both 
parties got fuel. It was quite common for the repre- 
sentatives of the " blue " and the gray " to meet here 
in friendly conversations, swap jokes and opinions, 
trade coffee for tobacco and " hard tack " for corn 
bread. On one occasion one of the Union men in- 
vited a good-natured " Reb " to help him to our lines 
with an unusually heavy load of wood, with the prom- 
ise that he might safely return. 

The two came into the Union lines with the wood. 
The Confederate glanced around, sniffed the perfume 
of coffee and other good things cooking, and said, It 
looks right comfortable here, Yanks, and I reckon I'll 
stay ; " and he did. 

General Grant was especially interested in a mine 
that was being dug from the front of Burnside's 
corps to a fort in front called the Elliot Salient, with 
the intention of " blowing it up." Several times he 
was seen walking along these lines examining the 
preparations. Said one of the soldiers to the writer, 



THE INVESTMENT OF PETERSBURG 231 



" Though he usually had a cigar in his mouth, I sel- 
dom saw him smoking. He looked like a man who 
was doing a lot of thinking. He looked more at 
home on horseback than on foot. He was very quick 
in his motions, and very decided ; and he walked with 
his head and body thrown well forward. He asked 
me a question once and when I replied he looked me 
over from head to foot; I felt as though he had read 
me like a book." 

I have spoken of the incessant firing along this line, 
and this mine may have had something to do with it, 
for the Confederates knew about it; though how they 
learned of its being dug I do not know. 

This incessant firing can best be illustrated by the 
ordnance returns of the 6th New Hampshire, which 
at that time had in its ranks only about two hundred 
men. The returns of that regiment for one quarter 
shows that ninety-six thousand rounds of cartridges 
were fired, which is nearly five tons of ammunition. 

The breastworks along the line were eight or ten 
feet high in places and several feet thick; but they 
were not thick enough to stand shot and shell, and 
needed constant repair, for which purpose timber was 
often brought two miles from the rear. 

The Confederates were constantly strengthening 
their lines, until by the ist of July they were deemed 
practicably impregnable against assaults. 

There were comparatively few men killed each day 
in a regiment, but if even only two were killed during 
three days this would, in time, destroy the regiment. 

Lee, w4th consummate ability, took every oppor- 



232 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



tunity to exact a tribute of blood, though he was not 
able to strike any vital spot in the armor of Grant's 
army. 

War is at best terrible and, as Mr. Lincoln once 
said, cannot be successfully conducted " with elder- 
stalk squirts charged with rose water." The only 
justification of war is, that there are some things more 
valuable than human life, and our Republic and Free- 
dom were among them. War teaches the duty of self- 
sacrifice, for the good of all. 

In July the weather became terribly hot. Not a 
drop of rain had fallen from the 3d of June to the 
19th of July, a period of forty-seven days. March- 
ing men were enveloped in clouds of stifling dust, fill- 
ing the mouth and nostrils, and causing great suffering 
to the soldiers. The dust on the road from before 
Petersburg to City Point was over knee-deep. The 
springs, small streams, and ponds had dried up, but 
the men dug wells, and found good cool water for 
drinking and cooking. 

The men were better fed before Petersburg than is 
usual. An organization of patriotic citizens of the 
North, called the Sanitary Commission," provided 
vegetables, and sometimes fruit and other luxuries, in- 
cluding condensed milk for their coffee. It had more 
than good physical effects; it helped the morale of 
the army by reminding the soldiers that they w^ere 
not forgotten by the good people at home. 

Among the recruits sent to Grant at Petersburg 
there were many worthless characters, men who had 
enlisted for selfish purposes, principally to get the high 



THE INVESTMENT OF PETERSBURG 233 



bounties that were offered for recruits, and then to 
escape from the service they agreed to give in return. 
One of the veteran regiments, one that had earned a 
national reputation for courage and patriotism, had 
been filled up with such men — if men they could be 
called — as I refer to. They deserted in such 
numbers that the Confederates sent word that, as most 
of the regiment was on that side, the colonel ought 
to send over the regimental flag. But the regiment 
felt that they had got clear of men who were of no 
use to them, and that they would be worse than use- 
less to the Confederates. 

Grant had other armies than the one before Peters- 
burg, to plan for and look after. One of these, the 
army under Sigel, in the Shenandoah Valley, was 
within the same " zone of operations " as that of the 
" Army of the Potomac." Sigel did not suit Grant, 
for he proved slow and timid ; and he had replaced him 
by General Hunter, who marched up the Valley and, 
on June i6th, pushed forward to Lynchburg. 

When Grant had disappeared from Lee's front, 
after the battle of Cold Harbor, Lee sent Ewell's 
corps of his army of war-tried veterans to drive 
Hunter from the Valley of the Shenandoah. He de- 
feated Hunter, who fell back to the Ohio River as 
his nearest base of supplies. 

This retreat of Hunter left Early master of the 
Valley, and free to cross over into Pennsylvania and 
Maryland. He conducted the campaign with great 
ability. He threatened Baltimore, forced two hundred 
thousand dollars from the people of Frederick, 



234 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



to save their town from being burned, and burned 
houses within five miles of the city of Washington. 
The panic created by General Early's army in the 
vicinity of the national capital was so great that 
strong pressure was brought to bear on Grant to re- 
move his army to the vicinity of Washington. But 
Grant saw that it was more of a scare than a hurt, 
and sent General Wright with his corps and a part 
of the Nineteenth Corps that had just arrived from 
New Orleans, to take care of Early. A small bat- 
tle was fought before the defenses of the national 
capital; but when Early found himself confronted by 
the veterans of Grant's army, he hastened to get back 
again over the Potomac into Virginia. He car- 
ried with him horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, groceries, 
shoes, and clothing as a part of the plunder he had 
secured. 

Lee had thought that by sending Early on this er- 
rand, he might force Grant either to attack his de- 
fenses in front of Petersburg, or to withdraw his 
army. Grant had evidently wired to Stanton about it, 
for Mr. Lincoln in a quaint letter to Grant, about this 
time, says : " I have seen your dispatch expressing your 
unwillingness to break your hold where you are. 
Neither am I willing. Hold on with a hull-dog grip, 
and chew and choke as much as possible" 



CHAPTER XXIV 



THE GREAT MINE EXPLOSION 

The greater part of July was devoted to strengthen- 
ing the Union Hnes. The left wing was shortened to 
rest upon the Jerusalem Plank Road and an order was 
issued directing regular approaches to be made against 
the enemy's works. In other words, the enemy were 
to be " dug out of their holes " as they were at Vicks- 
burg. 

On the 25th of July, Grant sent Hancock's corps to 
the north of James River to make a quick dash on 
Richmond and, with two divisions of cavalry, to de- 
stroy the railroads in the vicinity of that city. This 
was for the purpose of cooperating with an attack to 
be made in connection with the explosion of a mine. 
This mine, which was to make a breach in the enemy's 
works, was in course of preparation. 

In this chapter my young readers will be informed 
about that dramatic attempt to blow up a part of the 
enemy's works known as the Elliot Salient, in front 
of Burnside's corps, on the right of the Union lines. 
It was thought that by this means a breach would be 
made in the Confederate works large enough for an 
assaulting body of men to rush through and capture 
the town. 

The Union lines at this point bulged out in convex 
235 



236 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



form towards the enemy. The Hnes of the opposing 
forces here were not over one hundred and fifty yards 
apart. From that point could be seen Cemetery Hill 
and, behind it, the steeples of Petersburg. The city 
was within reach of our artillery and several times 
buildings had been set on fire by the Union guns. 

It was at this point that, from a sheltered ravine 
out of sight of the enemy, the mine was begun, June 
25th. 

It was a bold proposition to run a mine under a dis- 
tant fort and blow it up. The regular engineers did 
not believe it practicable, and considered it a foolish 
proposal. With specialists the thing that has never 
been done is impossible. But while the army en- 
gineers declared that men engaged in digging it would 
be stifled for want of air, Lieutenant-Colonel Pleas- 
ants began to work and continued it under very dis- 
couraging circumstances. Americans possess the 
characteristic of believing that intelligence can do any- 
thing, and this officer, who was a civil engineer before 
he entered the army, believed that with his regiment, 
mostly coal miners from Pennsylvania, he could suc- 
cessfully complete the task. The work was begun 
with the enthusiastic support of General Burnside. 

The regular engineers refused the use of their min- 
ing picks or instruments of any kind. Colonel Pleas- 
ants had the ordinary picks made over into mining 
picks. He had no wheelbarrows with which to carry 
away the earth from the galleries ; but he made hand- 
barrows from cracker boxes, bound with iron from 
fish barrels and fitted with handles. He obtained 



THE GREAT MINE EXPLOSION 237 



lumber from a saw mill outside the lines and, from 
Washington, an instrument to ascertain the distance; 
and finally, overcoming every obstacle, he carried the 
mine forward without employing a man outside of his 
own regiment. 

In order to conceal the soil when removed, so that 
the enemy would not know that a mine was being dug, 
he stuck into the soil each day branches and twigs of 
trees cut for the purpose. 

The work was begun on June 25th and, in spite of 
derision and predictions to the contrary, finished July 
23d without accident. That which had been declared 
impossible was done. Eighteen thousand cubic feet 
of earth had been removed from the mine. The gal- 
leries were 511 feet long and beneath the Elliot Salient 
branched on either side, not unlike the top of a letter 
T. Eight magazines were charged with 1,000 pounds 
of powder each. Wouldn't that make a grand ex- 
plosion? 

Miners engaged in its construction have since in- 
formed the writer that, while at work, they could hear 
the strokes of the picks and spades of the enemy coun- 
termining; when under the salient they heard boards 
and other things thrown upon the ground. They 
would not have been astonished had they encountered 
the enemy at any time. 

On our side batteries had been erected to keep down 
the Confederate fire when the assault was made. On 
the whole it was a favorable time for the assault ; for 
Lee had sent five of his divisions north of James River 
and had but three left at Petersburg. If the ridge 



238 A LIFE OF GRANT 



beyond the Elliot Salient could be captured, the city 
with its garrison and artillery was ours. 

Such was the prize to be grasped. What were the 
preparations for the task? 

I have elsewhere mentioned that many of the regi- 
ments here were filled up with worthless material, 
bounty- jumpers and men with little sense of patriot- 
ism; but in such an assault the best men are required 
for success, since the effort must be made in unison 
and with dash. 

At first Burnside had elected for this work his di- 
vision of black troops, and had drilled them for the 
task; but General Meade interfered and objected to 
their use. They had never been in battle and he 
feared they would lack steadiness; and again, in case 
of disaster. Northern people might believe that they 
had been needlessly sacrificed because they were black. 

Then General Burnside took the worst possible 
course ; he left the decision of this important choice 
to chance. Lots were drawn by his division com- 
manders to see who should lead the assault. 

The choice fell on the division of General G. H. 
Ledlie, and his division, as it turned out, was the 
worst that could have been selected. 

The time fixed for the explosion was hdf-past three 
on the morning of the 30th of July. The whole night 
was devoted to preparation. From three o'clock 
every one was up, with watch in hand, waiting for 
the expected explosion. 

Grant had bivouacked the night before near the 
scene, that he might be early on hand to see things for 



THE GREAT MINE EXPLOSION 239 



himself, his face masked with its usual impassiveness. 
He waited with watch in hand until past the time set 
for the explosion, then his face began to show anxiety ; 
his brow was slightly frowning, and his mouth more 
sternly set. He sent one of his staff to ascertain the 
cause of the delay. The officer returned and reported 
that the fuse had been lighted at the hour set, the cause 
of its failure to explode would be ascertained, and the 
mine would be exploded. 

Lieutenant Jacob Douty and Sergeant Henry Reese 
took their lives in their hands and went through the 
long gallery to see what was the matter. They found 
that a match ninety feet long had gone out at a splice 
about halfway of its length. They set fire to the 
match once more and got safely back. Thus the El- 
liot Salient, where two hundred men or more slum- 
bered, had a respite for half an hour. 

Suddenly, at fifteen minutes of five o'clock, a dull, 
jarring tremor shook the ground and then a mass of 
earth, through which could be seen the flashes of ig- 
nited powder like lightning from a cloud, was thrown 
two hundred feet into the air. It hung suspended like 
a black cloud through which dark objects could be seen, 
then fell back to earth again, leaving a dense smoke 
over the place. 

The Elliot Salient had disappeared and in its place 
was a pit thirty feet deep, two hundred feet long, and 
fifty feet wide. So powerful had been the concussion 
that fragments of gun-carriages were thrown several 
hundred feet inside the Union lines. 

Cannon from the Union side now opened with tre- 



240 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



mendous roar on the Confederate lines in front; ever>'' 
brazen throat blazed and thundered. Had a proper 
assaulting column now rushed upon the enemy's 
works, while they were paralyzed and disorganized, 
success must have crowned its efforts. 

The plan for the assault was, that after the ex- 
plosion the attacking force was at once to pass through 
the opening made in the Confederate works in two 
columns, one to the right and the other to the left, 
sweep down the intrenchments, and cover (protect) 
the flank of another force which would make for the 
crest. 

The plan was good, but of its execution only the 
facts need to be stated in order to condemn it. 

There was nothing in front to hinder a charging 
column. The Confederate troops had fled in fright, 
or in fear of further explosions. The way was open 
to the summit of the hill, with no hindering earth- 
works between. 

The division of Ledlie advanced to the assault, but 
that officer was not with his men to direct and en- 
courage them; he was in a bomb-proof! When the 
division reached the scene of the explosion, instead of 
going forward as planned, it took shelter from the 
scattering shots of the enemy by crowding into the 
crater formed by the explosion. 

The Confederates, who had at first abandoned their 
works right and left of the crater for several hundred 
yards, now showed signs of returning confidence. It 
was an hour before their artiller}^ did any execution, 
and it opened feebly as Potter and Wilcox, with their 



THE GREAT MINE EXPLOSION 241 



divisions, went forward to the assault and took posses- 
sion of the enemy's intrenchments that had, for sev- 
eral hundred yards, been abandoned. Here covered 
ways and rifle-pits were jumbled together by the ex- 
plosion. 

There was now a confused mass of men in and 
around the crater. Confusion reigned supreme. By 
this time the Confederates had rallied and drove back 
the Union men at every attempt to advance. 

There was an artillery duel going on when, at ten 
o'clock, the black troops gallantly charged. 

I saw," said one who was a witness of the scene, 
" the black troops charge, and it was a brave sight. 
I saw one of their color bearers killed and the flag 
go down; but it was lifted by another who went for- 
ward and was shot ; but the flag was rescued by a third 
who bore it forward in the fight. They had passed 
beyond the crater and towards the crest of the hill, 
when they encountered a converging fire of artillery 
which killed many and drove back the rest, but not 
until they had reached the enemy, partly broken his 
lines, and captured two hundred and fifty prisoners. 
Like the others, they now took shelter in the crater. 
It was very hot, the thermometer standing above 90 in 
the shade, and the rays of the sun were converging 
like a burning-glass in this airless hole. There was 
no semblance of order; no leader to extricate them; 
and a raking fire from three different directions killed 
or mangled the men in this terrible place. A shot 
striking there was sure to kill or mutilate one or more 
of them. 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



The enemy, encouraged by the stupid delays, now 
took courage and formed in a ravine on the right, 
planting artillery to the right and left of the crater. 

Potter, with his division, charged towards the crest, 
but having no supports was driven back like those who 
had preceded him. 

Meade was, meanwhile, raging at delays and appar- 
ent mismanagement. Grant saw that the affair was 
being bungled and rode forward to see what could be 
done to remedy matters. He went on horseback as 
far as possible and then dismounted and went afoot 
toward the scene. He was dressed, with the excep- 
tion of his shoulder straps, like a private soldier, and 
attracted but little attention as he made his way among 
the lookers-on. He could not make his way fast 
enough, inside, so got over the intrenchment and ad- 
vanced in the direction he desired to go. He was not 
long in seeing that the affair would prove a failure, 
and that to save his men the attack must be stopped. 

He hurried to find General Burnside ; the astonish- 
ment of that officer can be imagined when he saw 
Grant, covered with sweat and dust, climbing from 
the outside of the breastworks. 

Grant wasted no time in compliments or fault-find- 
ing, but ordered the immediate withdrawal of the 
troops, for it was slaughter to leave them there. 

There was no formal withdrawal; the men saved 
themselves as best they could. Most of them made 
their way back from the crater at night. The enemy 
took many prisoners and the loss was sickening, with- 
out any compensating results. 



THE GREAT MINE EXPLOSION 243 



The day after " the mine fiasco," the dead were still 
unburied and the wounded uncared for between the 
hostile lines. A flag of truce had been sent to gain 
consent of the enemy to the burial of the dead, and to 
caring for the wounded. It only succeeded so far as 
to allow the Union soldiers permission to give water 
to the wounded, for which they were piteously calling. 
A few of the wounded, however, were stealthily re- 
moved under cover of night. 

At dawn General Burnside sent another white flag, 
and a truce being arranged, the officers and men met 
midway between the hostile intrenchments. 

Our men dug two trenches, side by side, and the ne- 
groes previously captured by the Confederates brought 
our dead to the trenches on stretchers. 

The black soldiers were buried in one trench and the 
whites in the other. The black stretcher bearers, 
meanwhile, looked wistfully over the narrow line 
which separated them from friends and liberty. 

While this was taking place, the officers of both 
sides entered into friendly but constrained conversa- 
tion. Meanwhile the men of both sides stood on their 
respective breastworks, two hundred yards apart. 

On the right of the group of officers there were 
gathered a hundred or more privates and non-commis- 
sioned officers of both sides, conversing, joking, trad- 
ing knives and rations, in the most friendly manner. 
There was none of the reserve shown by the officers. 
One would hardly think, to see them, that they had 
so recently made a business of trying to kill each other. 

After the truce, a sentiment of disgust over the 



244 A LIFE OF GRANT 



mismanaged affair and its needless butchery prevailed 
among all ranks. " When I am killed," said one, " I 
don't want my life thrown away; I want it to count/* 

" I don't want to be commanded by a general from 
a bomb-proof," said another. 

Probably the most disgusted man was the general- 
in-chief. Two days after the fight Grant wrote to 
Meade, saying, I think there will have to be an in- 
vestigation of the affair. So fair an opportunity will 
never, probably, occur again for carrying the fortifica- 
tions ; preparations were good, orders were ample, and 
everything, so far as I could see, subsequent to the 
explosion of the mine, shows that almost without loss 
the crest beyond the mine could have been carried; 
this would have given us Petersburg with all its artil- 
lery and a large part of its garrison." 

A few days after this affair Burnside was relieved 
from his command, and this ended his army career. 
He was a brave, patriotic, but not an able general; 
he was always a little slow in doing things. 

Up to the time of this truce which has been referred 
to, the fire along the line was fierce and incessant; 
but for a week following scarcely a shot was fired on 
either side. 

During one of these days a Confederate soldier 
jumped upon the breastwork opposite and, swinging 
his hat, cried out, " Doggone it, Yanks, let's go home ! " 

The meeting between the two lines had vividly 
brought about a renewal of the feelings of common 
kinship, and the fight was never waged with equal bit- 
terness there again. 



CHAPTER XXV 



DESTROYING CONFEDERATE HOPES 

General Grant presented many contradictory 
phases of character. In his great love of friends he 
would suffer many annoyances in their behalf, and 
never deserted a friend in trouble; yet he would not 
show a favor to one of them at the expense of a public 
duty. 

A cousin of Grant's, who was a Confederate sol- 
dier, became a prisoner of war. He wrote to the 
general asking to be paroled; but the request was re- 
fused because Grant would not show favor to a rela- 
tive that he could not show to any other soldier. 

He hated war and parade, and was yet a great sol- 
dier. He had no showy personal qualities, yet his 
achievements made the most brilliant pages of history. 
He was a man of singular gentleness, and yet was re- 
lentless and unyielding in the conduct of war. He 
couldn't make a speech, yet his pithy sentences struck 
home like bullets. He could not endure the sight of 
suffering, yet sent thousands of men to their death in 
relentless battle for his country. 

One of the sources of Confederate strength was in 
their slaves. They worked in the field, raising- 
produce for feeding both the Confederate armies and 
the families at home, thus leaving all white men free 

245 



246 A LIFE OF GRANT 



to enlist in the army; they also worked on fortifica- 
tions, and as teamsters. While thus strengthening 
their side by negro labor, they denied the right of the 
Federal Government to use them for purposes of war, 
and threatened to kill any black Union soldier who 
fell into their hands. 

Several of General Butler's negro soldiers having 
been taken prisoners, they were set at work under fire 
of the Union guns. General Butler promptly retali- 
ated by placing a number of Confederate officers under 
fire of their guns. The enemy at once took the black 
soldiers from their dangerous work and gave them 
the treatment of white soldiers. Lee wrote to Grant 
a letter of explanation, incidentally arguing the ques- 
tions of state rights and slavery. 

Grant in reply said, I shall always regret the ne- 
cessity of retaliating for wrongs done our soldiers, 
but regard it my duty to protect all persons received 
into the army of the United States, regardless of 
color or nationality. When acknowledged soldiers of 
the government are captured, they must be treated as 
prisoners of war, or such treatment as they receive 
will be inflicted upon an equal number of prisoners 
held by us. I have nothing to do with the slavery 
question; therefore decline answering the argument 
adduced to show the right to return to former owners 
such negroes as are captured from our armies." 

Grant had loved General McPherson with a love 
second only to that with which he regarded Sherman. 
When the tidings of his death before Atlanta came, he 
was almost prostrated with grief. 



DESTROYING CONFEDERATE HOPES 247 



Sherman had captured Atlanta November ist, 1864, 
and after destroying its arsenals, machine shops, and 
railroads, on the 15th of November began his march 
to the sea. Jefferson Davis, the president of the Con- 
federacy, removed the able General Johnston because 
of his failure to beat Sherman, and put in his place 
General G. B. Hood, who tried to cut Sherman's com- 
munications. The joke of that matter was that Sher- 
man had voluntarily abandoned them, as Grant had 
before Vicksburg; and therefore had no communica- 
tions to cut. 

Davis advocated pushing the Union army back to 
the Mississippi. 

When Sherman heard of this plan, he said, in sub- 
stance, "If he zi'ill only go North I will furnish him 
with rations for his trip." 

Well, he did go, and Sherman detached a part of 
his forces commanded by General Thomas, who never 
failed to follow him. Grant said of Hood, " He con- 
tinued his movement northward, which seemed to be 
leading to his certain doom ; . . . had I the power 
to command both armies I should not have changed 
the order under which he seemed to be acting." 

Sherman marched to Savannah and a few days 
later wired to the President, " I beg to present you, 
as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with one 
hundred and fifty guns, plenty of ammunition, and 
about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." 

This famous " march to the sea " cut the Confed- 
eracy in two and destroyed, as was intended, many 
sources of Confederate supplies; for it was, as I have 



248 A LIFE OF GRANT 



before said, one part of Grant's plan to prevent the 
enemy from obtaining supplies for their armies. 

Another of the places from which Lee had obtained 
supplies was the Shenandoah Valley. Not only that, 
but protected as this valley was by mountains, he had 
used it, during the entire war, as a covered way 
through which his armies could pass to invade the 
North or to threaten Washington. 

On the 1st of August, 1864, Grant sent Sheridan 
to the Shenandoah Valley. He wrote to Halleck at 
the same time, saying, " I am sending General Sheri- 
dan for temporary duty whilst the enemy is being ex- 
pelled from the border. Unless General Hunter is in 
the field in person, I want Sheridan put in command 
of all the troops in the field, with instructions to put 
himself south of the enemy and follow him to the 
death. Wherever the enemy goes, let our troops fol- 
low." 

This was so much in accord with Lincoln's wishes 
that he wired to Grant. " This, I think, is exactly 
right; . . . discover if you can if there is any 
idea in the head of any here of putting our army 
south of the enemy or following him to the death in 
any direction. ... It will neither be done nor 
attempted, unless you watch it every day and hour and 
force it." 

On the 4th of August, Early had again crossed the 
Potomac into Mar}4and. This did not so greatly dis- 
turb Grant as it did the authorities at Washington, 
but he determined, for reasons I have given, to stop 
such proceedings in the future; and on the 7th of 



DESTROYING CONFEDERATE HOPES 249 



August, 1864, placed Sheridan formally in command 
in the Shenandoah Valley. 

Sheridan accepted the task of " cleaning out the 
Valley" with satisfaction; his face never lighted up 
quite so joyfully as when there was plenty of hard 
fighting to do. 

Grant, having prepared a plan of campaign for him, 
went to see Sheridan in person; but the latter was so 
confident and so clear in his views as to what should 
be done, that Grant said, " I found that only two 
words of instruction were needed — GO IN — and 
never took his plan for a campaign out of his pocket." 

On September 19th Sheridan put his army in mo- 
tion, defeated Early in a well-planned, whirlwind at- 
tack, and achieved one of the most important victories 
of the war. 

This brilliant and unexpected victory, fought with 
great skill and energy, set the North wild with joy. 
Sheridan's trumpet-like announcement, " We have sent 
them whirling through Winchester and to-morrow we 
are after them," ran like an electric joy-shock through 
the North and was repeated with enthusiasm by press 
and people. Grant expressed his satisfaction by or- 
dering a salute of a hundred loaded guns at the enemy 
before Petersburg. 

After this defeat Early established his army in what 
he believed to be an unassailable position at Fisher's 
Hill; but Sheridan again defeated him in a skillfully 
executed, lightning-like attack, with both cavalry and 
infantry, capturing sixty pieces of artillery and a thou- 
sand prisoners. 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



To prevent another possible raid through the Val- 
ley, Sheridan, under instructions from Grant, de- 
stroyed crops, mills, granaries, and everything that 
could support an army, so, as he phrased it, " a crow- 
flying over the Valley would be compelled to carry his 
rations with him." 

The Confederates were stung to the quick by these 
defeats, and Early was compelled either to fight an- 
other battle or to leave the Valley, since no means of 
subsisting his army was left there. 

On October the 19th, before daylight, he made a 
bold and skillful attack, turned the flank of the Union 
army, and drove it back toward Winchester. Sheri- 
dan had been absent at W ashington and w-as returning 
W'hen, at Winchester, he heard the sound of battle. 
He rode fast to the front and, on meeting his retreat- 
ing men, turned them back, exclaiming, " Face the 
other way, boys! We are going back to our camp! 
We'll lick them out of their boots! " 

He was received with enthusiastic joy, and they did 
go back. He re-formed his defeated army, and before 
night came had beaten and almost destroyed Early's 
army. It was the last time the Confederates raided 
through the Valley. 

Grant said of this victory, " It stamped Sheridan, 
what I have always thought him, one of the ablest of 
generals." 

Sheridan took the place in Grant's heart that Mc- 
Pherson had held; he was a man of Grant's kind, full 
of action, tireless, and courageous. 

In March, Sheridan with his cavalr}^ surprised and 



DESTROYING CONFEDERATE HOPES 251 



captured about all that remained of Early's men, in so 
brilliant a manner that the men threw down their 
arms and gave three cheers for their captors. 

Sheridan, with his gift of inspiring men, his clear, 
calculating foresight and sleepless energy, was a great 
help to the commander-in-chief in his final campaign 
that closed the war. 

While these events were taking place in the Valley, 
Grant was doing all in his power to assist, by keeping 
the enemy busy, so that Lee might not reenforce 
Early's army. With this purpose he sent Hancock 
to threaten Richmond from the north side of James 
River. 

While Hancock was doing this with his usual superb 
courage and energy, Warren with his corps was sent 
to seize the Weldon Railroad, and on August i8th he 
began destroying that road. The Confederates could 
not afford this, and a sharp battle took place; 
after two days of fighting and maneuvering. War- 
ren drove the enemy back to their intrenchments. 
When, however, he began the further destruction of 
the road, the enemy succeeded in driving him from 
his work, and both armies retired to their defenses. 

Warren later captured the Confederate intrench- 
ments at the junction of the Squirrel Level and the 
Poplar Springs Road, and succeeded in establishing a 
line near the enemy and connecting it with the works 
of the Weldon Railroad. The Confederates never re- 
gained the railroad again. 

Grant, meanwhile, strengthened the defenses in. 
front of Petersburg so that the lines that at first had 



252 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



required a corps to hold, could not be held by a di- 
vision. 

Thus slowly were being prepared the conditions 
needful for the victorious campaign that followed. 

The Confederates had great hopes from the Presi- 
dential campaign of 1864. The Republican party 
had nominated Abraham Lincoln on a platform which 
declared in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the 
war. The Democratic party, though it had in its 
ranks many patriotic citizens, nominated George B. 
McClellan on a platform which pronounced the war a 
failure, and favored peace at any price and the recog- 
nition of the Confederacy. This gave the Confeder- 
ate government great hopes. 

Grant had never been a politician, but he recognized 
that in the state of affairs then existing, there were 
but two parties, — one in favor of the Union and the 
other in favor of disunion. 

In a letter to his friend Washburn, he showed how 
thoughtfully he had considered the subject. He 
wrote, " Our peace friends, if they expect peace from 
separation, are much mistaken. It would be but the 
beginning of war, with thousands of Northern men 
joining the South because of our disgrace in allowing 
separation. To have * peace on any terms,' the South 
would demand a restoration of their slaves already 
freed. They would demand indemnity for losses sus- 
tained, and they would demand a treaty which would 
make the North slave-hunters for the South." 

He saw clearly that the South was at the end of 
its resources, and said, " They have robbed the 



DESTROYING CONFEDERATE HOPES 253 



cradle and the grave, equally, to get their present 
force. Besides what they lose in skirmishes and bat- 
tles, they are now losing, from desertion and other 
causes, at least one regiment a day. I have no doubt 
the enemy are exceedingly anxious to hold out until 
after the Presidential election. . . . They hope 
for a counter-revolution; they hope for the election of 
the peace candidate." 

Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the 
United States ; and the fall of Atlanta and Sheridan's 
victory in the Valley had contributed to aid, not 
only in the election of Lincoln, but in destroying 
another of the hopes of the Confederates. 



CHAPTER XXVI 



CLOSING IN FOR THE FINAL CAMPAIGN 

In his plain log hut at City Point, Grant was ma- 
turing his plans for the final overthrow of the Con- 
federacy. He had mastered all the details, had the 
courage to assume responsibility, and was ready to act 
swiftly when the proper moment came to strike the 
final blow. 

The election of Abraham Lincoln as President, to 
which his armies had contributed by their victories in 
the Shenandoah Valley and before Atlanta, had has- 
tened the doom of the Confederacy. All signs 
pointed to its early dissolution, and none felt so certain 
of this as the silent general at City Point. 

During the winter of 1864 his wife and children 
visited him. Mrs. Grant was accustomed to army fare 
and was almost as democratic and simple as her hus- 
band. There was an entire absence of display. The 
general was always neatly but roughly dressed, and 
scrupulously clean. His mind did not dwell on hats 
and boots or neckties. Many a second lieutenant in his 
army " put on more style " than his general-in-chief. 
His wife and children and horses w^re treated with 
affection, and all whom he knew with considerate, 
though not wordy, courtesy. People were freely ad- 

254 




A MESSENGER FROM THE ENEMY. 



THE FINAL CAMPAIGN 255 



mitted to his headquarters, except when he was very 
busy; though generally he seemed to have time to see 
everybody. 

To a few he talked about horses or farming, but 
mostly he listened to what they had to say; and his 
words were few but decisive. Some visited him out 
of mere curiosity, others intent on giving him points 
or advice. To such his silence and mask-like reserve 
were so chilling that they sometimes became too op- 
pressive to bear. To his intimate friends he sometimes 
talked with unexpected freedom, but never about his 
plans; those he kept to himself, unless their work 
formed a part of them. 

He occasionally displayed to his intimate acquaint- 
ances a dry humor and sense of fun, which few out- 
siders suspected him of possessing. 

He was maturing great plans, but few, even of his 
staff, knew the details. These plans were always prac- 
tical. He took no part in visionary schemes. When 
some one suggested that he wait until James River 
was frozen over and cross his army on the ice to at- 
tack Richmond, he said, victories were not won by 
waiting for rivers to freeze. 

President Lincoln visited him at times during the 
winter ; and saying, Good morning, gentlemen," 
would seat himself at the long pine table at Grant's 
headquarters and enter into conversation. He never 
wanted to know Grant's plans; his confidence in him 
was entire. His melancholy and care-worn face 
would light up, and for a time would seem care-free, 
so great was his confidence in the success which Grant 



256 A LIFE OF GRANT 

made him feel was soon to be the result of the coming 
campaign. 

Those who met Grant for the first time were aston- 
ished to find him a " plain, ordinary man," as one ex- 
pressed it, with no sign that he had been trained to 
arms. In other words, there was no pretense or mili- 
tary glitter in his dress or manner. His military 
training and brilliancy were shown only in what he 
accomplished. 

Things were moving; all along the lines the Union 
armies had begun to start. Sherman had turned 
north from Savannah, had captured Columbia, and 
Charleston had fallen; Thomas had defeated and de- 
stroyed Hood's army; Wilson with his cavalry was 
raiding through Georgia and Alabama ; Sheridan was 
moving with his cavalry from Shenandoah to Lynch- 
burg, destroying canals and railroads by which Lee 
drew supplies. Grant was slowly, surely, and relent- 
lessly closing in for the final act in the great drama 
of the war. 

On the 29th of March there was a dramatic meeting 
of the three greatest chieftains of the Union, Lincoln, 
Grant, and Sherman. The meeting was in the cabin 
of the steamer Ocean Queen, at City Point, on the 
James. They were friends, patriots, and great men 
of a common cause in which their very lives were 
staked. Their talk was earnest. Grant's only fear 
was that Lee might escape from the net that he was 
drawing around him, and by a quick march join 
Johnston and overwhelm Sherman. Sherman laughed 



THE FINAL CAMPAIGN 



257 



and grimly said, " Let him come ! I can take care of 
him for a while ! " 

Lincoln was anxious to end the war without further 
loss of life. 

"That rests with the enemy," said Sherman; "if 
he fights we must outfight him." 

Lincoln looked at Grant, and he nodded his head 
and said, " Yes, we must fight until he gives in ; it 
can't be avoided." 

Lee saw the net which Grant was drawing closely 
around him and planned to break through its entangle- 
ments. He was unwilling to leave Virginia, for the 
love of whom he had deserted his flag, without one 
more blow in his attempt to defend her. With this 
intent he placed one-half of his army under General 
Gordon, with orders to capture Fort Steadman, take 
the high ground beyond it, cut Grant's army in two 
and defeat his left wing, before he could concentrate 
to defend it. 

Availing themselves of the fact that deserters had 
been in the habit of coming into the Union lines at 
this point in large numbers, bringing their arms with 
them, a considerable number of Confederates walked 
out with arms at trail as though they were about to 
desert; then by a quick rush upon the Union pick- 
ets, captured them and sent them to the rear ; charged 
through the gap thus made ; took the main line by sur- 
prise; and captured Fort Steadman and a division of 
the Ninth Corps. Then they turned the guns of the 
captured fort upon the Union intrenchments, com- 



258 A LIFE OF GRANT 

pelled the abandonment of the neighboring batteries, 
and pushed their skirmishers towards the City Point 
Railroad, which ran back of the Union lines. 

The successes of the enemy were but transient. 
Their batteries were turned upon the fort, the Union 
troops charged, and not only recaptured the fort, but 
made prisoners, and sent the Confederates flying back 
to their intrenchments. It cost the Confederates five 
thousand men and, as Grant said, " Lee had not the 
men to spare. His losses will tell in the next battle. 
Our new recruits fought like veterans." It did not 
change by a hair's-breadth his plans, or delay his move- 
ments. 

Grant had fixed the 29th of March as the time for 
a general movement of all his forces against the enemy. 
His troops were in position. The fiery Sheridan on 
the extreme left, near Dinwiddie Court House; Weit- 
zel in front of Richmond with the Army of the James ; 
in front of Petersburg, Ord's and Warren's corps 
from Hatcher's Run to the Boydton Plank Road. 

The weather had been good for several days, and 
the roads were in passable condition, but on the even- 
ing of the 29th the rain poured dow^n in torrents, and 
the roads were knee-deep with sticky red mud, which 
made it hard traveling for the foot soldiers. 

On the 30th Sheridan moved to a point where a 
number of roads converge, called " Five Forks," to 
menace Lee's extreme right, draw his troops from his 
intrenchments, and defeat them. 

If you tread on a dog's tail he turns his head to 
defend himself. It is so with an army; if one part is 



THE FINAL CAMPAIGN 259 



menaced, another part must turn to help defend it. 
Lee, anxious for his Hues, hurried forward to the po- 
sition thus endangered, and attacked Sheridan, who 
was driven back, but fighting as he went every step of 
his way. At Dinwiddie, however, he took advantage 
of some intrenchments, closed up his lines, and de- 
fended himself so fiercely that, finding he could be 
driven no further, Lee recalled his divisions to Five 
Forks. As soon as Grant learned of Sheridan's situa- 
tion he ordered Warren's corps to march to his as- 
sistance. 

Sheridan had had that night what he declared was 
" the liveliest time of his life," and was sweating with 
impatience to go for them." Fie struck at once 
back to Five Forks with his cavalry. By several fierce 
charges he drove the enemy into their intrenchments, 
then ordered Warren's Corps to strike them on flank 
and rear. While directing this movement, he rode to 
various parts of the line, on his powerful black horse, 
urging, vociferating, striking his clenched fist into the 
palm of his hand and — making his orders as emphatic 
as possible. He was heard to say, " My cavalry are 
using up their ammunition and we must hurry up 
things. This battle must be fought on the jump ! We 
have got to smash 'em before sundown!" He was 
the very impersonation of action. With his scouts, 
who wore the Confederate uniform, he went dashing 
along the lines during the fight, exclaiming, " We'll 
get the twist on 'em, boys. There won't be a grease 
spot left of them when we are done with them! " 

He began the battle with his cavalry as an impene- 



26o A LIFE OF GRANT 



trable veil behind which he maneuvered his infantry. 
At one time when Ayer's division, while acting as a 
pivot to the movement, had broken under a sudden at- 
tack, Sheridan rushed into their disordered ranks, 
shouting, " Close up your ranks, boys, we're going to 
whip them! Where's my battle flag?" Seizing it 
from the hands of a sergeant, he waved the crimson 
and white banner, encouraging and urging the men to 
close up their ranks and " go for 'em ! " The sergeant 
who had carried the battle flag was killed. Bullets 
pattered around the general like rain, but he seemed to 
bear a charmed life. Under his inspiring voice and 
magnetic presence the men closed their ranks, with 
fixed bayonets rushed upon the enemy, driving them 
from their works, and capturing those who did not 
run. 

Sheridan was soon in the captured works, and in 
good-natured raillery said to the prisoners, " We want 
all of you; drop your guns; you'll never need them 
again." 

Fifteen hundred men were captured at this angle of 
the enemy's works, and six thousand in all as a result 
of the battle of Five Forks. Sheridan followed in 
person the flying Confederates, urging on his men, 
until nine o'clock at night. 

The position captured was important. It gave 
Grant, with the exception of the Richmond and Dan- 
ville Railroad, the last of Lee's communications. The 
net was drawing closer and closer around the Confed- 
erate general and he could not hope to hold the posi- 
tion before Petersburg much longer. 



THE FINAL CAMPAIGN 261 



It was a picturesque scene when, after the pursuit, 
Sheridan lay down to rest, amid blazing camp-fires, 
with his head upon his saddle, surrounded by huge 
stacks of captured arms, cannon, and wagons. 

When Grant received the news he wired to the Presi- 
^dent. The news soon spread among the soldiers and 
cheers were heard for miles along the Union lines. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
lee's race for life 

Grant made his headquarters at Dabney's saw 
mills, in the rear of and about halfway between the 
right and left of his lines before Petersburg. When 
at night the news of Sheridan's success came, he was 
seated before a blazing camp-fire. He smiled thought- 
fully, and then said, with gratified emphasis, " Good! " 
As was usual with him when tidings of a battle came, 
his first question was, How many prisoners ? " 

No general was ever so fond of capturing prisoners 
as Grant, for in his merciful heart he preferred to 
succeed by keeping his enemies out of the fight in this 
way, rather than by bloodshed. 

As Sheridan was now in an isolated position. Grant 
feared lest Lee, seeing the importance of Sheridan's 
position, might withdraw his troops from their de- 
fenses and, risking all upon the single chance, fall 
upon him to destroy him. To guard against this 
danger he ordered Miles's division of Humphrey's 
corps to his assistance ; and, as a further help to hold 
the enemy in their defenses, ordered all his artillery 
that studded the lines of Petersburg to open fire with 
shotted guns, to thunder a psean of victory. This fire 
was continued all along the line until it was light 
enough for the troops to move on the enemy. 

262 



LEE'S RACE FOR LIFE 263 



Grant's corps commanders joyfully received the 
order to move. Wright said, I will make the fur 
fly ! " while Parke confidently responded that he 
would " go into the Confederate works like a hot 
knife into butter." 

At a quarter before five, Wright's and Parke's corps 
moved forward under a heavy fire of artillery from 
the enemy, pulled away the abattis (fallen trees with 
the branches pointing outward) that hindered their 
progress, and with cheers and shouts went over the 
works. 

Wright reached the Boydton Plank Road and, 
sweeping down the enemy's intrenchments, captured 
their artillery and three thousand prisoners. 

Grant rode forward, urging his horse over the 
works just as the prisoners were marching out. He 
stopped and eyed them, with keen satisfaction showing 
on his face. The Confederates, on their part, peered 
at the Yankee general with eager curiosity. When 
a division of his own men came marching by, they gave 
lusty cheers for Grant all along their lines. 

Parke on the right had meanwhile captured several 
hundred yards of intrenchments. But the Confeder- 
ates retired to an inner line of strong works with both 
flanks resting on the Appomattox River. 

The lines in front of Ord were diflicult and Grant 
enjoined him to be cautious. But Ord and Humphrey 
soon captured the works in their front, and the outer 
defenses of Petersburg that had withstood the attacks 
of Grant's army for so many months were at last in 
his hands, never to be given up again. 



264 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Wherever there was a fighting chance. Lee's sol- 
diers had fought with heroic tenacity and courage. 
Illustrative of this was the defense of Forts Greggs 
and Whitw^orth, two strong enclosed works on the 
left of Petersburg, which Gibbons' division of Ord's 
corps captured in trying to break through to 
the city. There wtre but two hundred and fifty men 
defending them; but these brave men kept up the de- 
fense until over five hundred of Gibbons' men had 
fallen, and only thirty of its defenders remained un- 
injured. Fifty-five Confederate dead were found in 
the works they had defended so tenaciously. 

Grant was urged by his officers to order an assault 
at once, to capture the city; but he refused to sacri- 
fice his soldiers, as he believed that the enemy would 
evacuate the place during the night, and he ordered 
his troops forward on a parallel march to head off 
Lee's army. 

Miles with his division, who had been holding the 
White Oak Road for Sheridan, was attacked by 
Heth's Confederates. But with great skill and cour- 
age he whipped and drove them towards the Appo- 
mattox River and Amelia Court House. 

So all along the lines there came tidings that the 
structure of defenses that Lee had so skillfully erected 
and tenaciously defended was crumbling. He saw 
plainly that the evil day so long postponed by his skill 
and valor was come, and fought with brave but un- 
availing efiforts to recover his lost ground. 

Before he had learned of Wright's successes that 
Sunday morning of the 2nd of April, he had been sur- 



LEE'S RACE FOR LIFE 265 

prised to see soldiers in blue moving on the Boydton 
Road. 

Turning to General A. P. Hill, he said, " How is 
this, General? Your men are giving way." 

General Hill, riding forward to learn what it meant, 
met three Union soldiers, and cried out, " Throw down 
your arms ! " They made reply by leveling their mus- 
kets at his breast, and one of the bravest and ablest of 
Lee's generals fell before their fire. 

When, at last, Lee saw that he could not hope to 
hold his lines for another day, he sent a dispatch to 
Richmond, in simple words, saying, " I see no pros- 
pects of doing more than holding our position here 
until night. The enemy have broken our lines in three 
places. Richmond must be evacuated to-night." 
Under the friendly darkness he hoped to escape, unite 
with Johnston, and continue the war. 

When the message of Lee reached Jefferson Davis, 
president of the Confederacy, he was attending serv- 
ices at St. Paul's Church. He read it and a deep 
shade of care clouded his face as he passed out of 
church, walked to his house, wrote orders withdraw- 
ing the Confederate gold and silver from the banks 
of Danville, then rode to the Danville station and em- 
barked on the cars, taking his carriage with him. 

A slave dealer who had seen the signs of the day 
was also at the station, with a gang of slaves hand- 
cuffed together, clamorous for a chance to embark 
with his property; but the guards repulsed him. 

On arriving at Danville, Mr. Davis wrote his last 
proclamation, which showed his courage and tenacity, 



266 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



if not his good judgment. In part it read, We have 
now entered upon a new phase of the struggle. Re- 
lieved from the necessity of guarding a particular 
point, our army will be free to move from point to 
point, to strike the enemy in detail far from his base." 

The city of Richmond was a scene of wild excite- 
ment and dismay on that Sunday afternoon and Mon- 
day. People were fleeing from the city, and convey- 
ances were at such a premium that in several instances 
they commanded as high as a hundred dollars an hour 
in gold or greenbacks. Wagons with gold and silver 
belonging to the Confederacy were hurried to the Dan- 
ville station. Confederate public documents were 
heaped in the streets for bonfires. Confederate bills 
were of so little value that they, too, were burned m 
the streets. Barrels of whisky of their hospital sup- 
plies were poured into the gutters, and men and 
women who drank freely of it paraded the streets 
with frenzied shouts and noisy singing and laughter, 
or joined the mobs that were pillaging the stores of 
food and dry goods. Loud explosions were heard in 
the city from James River, where the ironclads and 
other shipping were being blown up. General Ewell, 
commanding Lee's rear guard, set fire to the ware- 
houses and soon the city was aflame. A thousand 
houses were burned in the conflagration. 

When Ewell marched out of the city early Monday 
morning, women came out from their houses implor- 
ing the soldiers to stay and fight for them and their 
homes. But the soldiers recognized the signs of the 
day and replied, Fighting is played out ! " 



LEE'S RACE FOR LIFE 267 



Confusion reigned supreme in Richmond until Gen- 
eral Weitzel, with his black soldiers, marched in and 
took possession, established order, protected the citi- 
zens, and fought the flames to save the city. 

With gleaming teeth and swaying bodies keeping 
time to their refrain these black soldiers marched 
through the streets singing, 

** John Brown's body lies moldering in the grave, 

But his soul is marching on," 

as if heralding the doom of slavery in this land they 
were fighting to preserve. 

Grant had not been idle. He rode forward to di- 
rect personally the movement of troops that were hur- 
rying forward. Then, seating himself near a tree, 
he began to write orders and send them to his oflicers. 
The group of officers around him drew a sharp fire 
from the enemy ; but while the bullets hummed around 
him like bees he kept on writing, urging with tre- 
mendous energy the work of heading off Lee. He 
said quizzically, as he got up after finishing his writ- 
ing for that time, " I believe they have got the range." 

Grant had given orders for Petersburg to be bom- 
barded Monday morning; but before this order was 
carried out, he found that the Confederates had evac- 
uated the city early in the morning. He at once rode 
into the place, accompanied by General Meade. 

The bullets of the enemy began pattering around 
him like big raindrops, when he took shelter under 
cover of a building. From this place he could see the 
river level packed with Lee's army. He had not the 



268 A LIFE OF GRANT 



heart to order up his artillery to open upon this mass 
of escaping Confederates, as he expected to capture 
all of them soon. 

Grant's ability to think clearly under circumstances 
when most men are confused was shown by an incident 
that then occurred. He had already given orders to 
pursue the Confederates from the south side of the Ap- 
pomattox, when a man representing himself as one of 
Lee's engineers came to him. He explained to Grant 
and Meade, with great plausibility, that Lee had pre- 
pared a strongly intrenched position, between the Ap~ 
pomattox and James rivers, into which he would 
throw himself to fight his final battles. Meade was 
much impressed with these representations, and was 
eager to cross to the north side to head off Lee. But 
Grant said, " Lee is no fool and is not likely to put 
himself between two rivers, and between two armies 
like the army before Petersburg and that on the north 
side of the James River." 

Grant's only fear now was that Lee might be able 
to escape and reach the Danville Road before he could 
be headed off. He sent word of the situation to 
President Lincoln at City Point and invited him to 
come to see him. 

Grant and his staff were sitting on the piazza of a 
house when Lincoln, with long strides and beaming 
countenance, came up with his son Tad. After con- 
gratulating Grant heartily he said, " Do you know, 
General, I have had a sort of sneaking idea for some 
days that you intended to do something like this." 

Lee had, meanwhile, bent all his energies to getting 



LEE'S RACE FOR LIFE 269 



his army out of its defenses and trying to reach 
Burkeville, which is fifty miles from Richmond, and 
from which place a short distance would bring him to 
Danville, where the desired junction with Johnston's 
army might be made. 

During all of Monday Lee pushed his army to- 
wards Amelia Court House, where he had given orders 
for all of his troops to assemble. He was unusually 
confident and cheerful, and was heard to say, I have 
got my army safe out of its breastworks, and in order 
to follow me the enemy must abandon his lines, and 
can derive no further benefit from his railroad or the 
James River." He seemed to forget that he was deal- 
ing with a general who had not hesitated to cut loose 
from his base in face of a foe superior to his own, 
and subsist his army on the hostile country, as Grant 
had before Vicksburg. 

The march of the Union army was on two lines; 
one under General Ord moved by the line of the South- 
side Railroad, while Sheridan with his cavalry and the 
Fifth Corps, followed by the Second and Sixth Corps, 
moved by routes near the Appomattox River. 

Lee marched by the north bank of the Appomattox 
for thirty-five miles and then crossed that stream to 
reach the Danville Road at Amelia Court House, 
where he expected to receive rations and other sup- 
plies that he had ordered from Danville. One can im- 
agine Lee's surprise and agony when he learned that 
the train, loaded with his provisions, had been sent to 
Richmond. 

This ruined his plans for escape in that direction, 



2 JO 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



for it was needful for his success that his army should 
be kept together, and this, without regular rations and 
supplies, was impossible. He was obliged, in conse- 
quence, to remain at Amelia during the 4th and 5th 
and to send out foraging parties to gather rations for 
his starving men. It was this delay that gave Sheri- 
dan with his cavalry and the Fifth Corps the oppor- 
tunity to head him off. 

On the night of the 5th of April, with diminished 
hopes, Lee again began his march. The Union army, 
which had been urged to mighty exertions by the spur 
which Grant's terrible energy had put in all his or- 
ders, was south and moving to the west of him; 
Burkeville, the junction of the Danville Road, was in 
Grant's possession; and this cut off Lee's chance for 
getting provisions from the south and barred his way 
to Danville. His only remaining hope was to reach 
Farmville, cross the river and escape with his army to 
the mountains back of Lynchburg. 

When Grant found that the Confederate army had 
left Amelia Court House, he faced his army about and 
followed in pursuit. 

On this march Lee never allowed the head of his 
column to halt because of fighting that was taking 
place in his rear. For fourteen miles he kept up a 
running fight, with greatest persistency and courage ; 
halting, intrenching, and battling with wonderful skill, 
showing, even in defeat, while harassed by surround- 
ing and outnumbering foes, that his soldiers and their 
commander were worthy to be named as veterans of 
the heroic Army of Northern Virginia. 



LEE'S RACE FOR LIFE 



271 



Sheridan, meanwhile, harassed their flanks, and his 
battle lines pressed close to Lee's skirmish lines. 

On the 6th a series of battles took place at Sailor's 
Creek. Humphrey's corps drove the Confederates 
of Gordon towards the mouth of the creek, defeated 
them, destroyed a train of four hundred baggage 
wagons, accompanied by a formidable escort of in- 
fantry and artillery, captured 1,700 prisoners, 13 
flags, and 4 guns. Wright also had a sharp fight on 
the left and defeated the enemy. On the left Sheri- 
dan's cavalry rode over the enemy's intrenchments at 
a rush. 

Attacked in front and flank, unable to run, or with- 
stand the terrible assaults, Ewell's whole force sur- 
rendered on the field. Lee had lost in this battle not 
less than eight thousand men, a loss that was irrepara- 
ble to him. 

Sheridan, seeing the importance of this victory, 
wrote to Grant, ''If the thing is pressed, I think Lee 
will surrender." 

.At night Lee continued his march to Farmville, 
where he got rations for his famishing veterans. 
After this refreshment his soldiers took on new life 
and marched so fast that, with all their tnergy, 
the Union soldiers could not overtake them nor 
bring them to battle. They still, however, hung close 
and tenaciously upon the heels of the retreating Con- 
federates, while Sheridan's cavalry flanked and headed 
him off. 

Ord's chief-of -staff, General Theodore Reed, 
while pressing forward with five hundred infantry and 



272 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



eighteen mounted men, encountered two divisions of 
Lee's army and made a heroic fight; and though he 
and all of his men were killed or captured, he delayed 
the Confederate advance and gained several precious 
hours for Sheridan to bar Lee's progress. 

Lee's vahant heart did not despair. He said to his 
son, " Keep your command together and in good spir- 
its, General; don't think of surrender. I will get you 
out of this." Bleeding, famishing, without rest, al- 
most without hope, environed by relentless misery and 
foes, he still continued the unequal race. One must 
be lacking in appreciation of heroism who does not 
feel a thrill of admiration as well as pity for the 
great commander and his brave soldiers in this last 
struggle. 

His chief officers, however, saw that the cause was 
hopeless, and as early as the 6th had held a council 
and decided that there was then no hope but surren- 
der. 

The desire to shift from his shoulders the responsi- 
bility of further bloodshed, together with the message 
from Sheridan, previously referred to, induced Grant 
to write the following letter : 

Headquarters Armies oe the U. S. 

5 p. M., April 7th, 1865. 
General R. E. Lee, Commanding C. S. A.: 

The result of the last week must convince you of the 
hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the 
Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that 
it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself 
the responsibility of any further effusion of blood by 



LEE'S RACE FOR LIFE 



273 



asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Con- 
federate States Army known as the Army of Northern 
Virginia. 

U. S. Grant, Lieutemnt-General. 

Lee replied that he did not entertain the opinion 
Grant expressed of the hopelessness of further resist- 
ance, but asked what terms Grant would offer on con- 
dition of surrender. 

Grant replied that there was but one condition, 
namely, that the men and officers surrendered should 
be disqualified for taking up arms against the govern- 
ment until properly exchanged. 

About this time Grant came upon a tired and 
hungry-looking gentleman in the gray uniform of a 
colonel, who said that, as he was the only one left of 
his regiment in Lee's army, he thought he might as 
well stop off at home, and wanted to surrender. Grant 
told him to stop where he was, and he would not be 
troubled. 

Confident that the end of the war was near, if Lee's 
army could be overtaken, the soldiers of Grant's army 
marched without sleep and without regular rations, 
with cheerful alacrity and tireless energy. They be- 
gan to see that the end was near and marched without 
straggling or complaint. 

General Grant, who had been marching with that 
column of his army moving south of Lee's line of re- 
treat, now decided to march with the army that was 
close upon Lee's rear guard, in order to keep in easy 
communication with Lee, Encouraged by reports be 



274 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



had received, that night he and his staff cut loose and, 
without baggage, tent, or even his sword, he started to 
meet Sheridan. 

As a result of intense mental effort and fatigue, 
and irregular meals, Grant was suffering from an 
acute headache. He spent the most of the night at a 
country house bathing his wrists and his feet in hot 
water and mustard to relieve the intense pain. 

About midnight another letter from Lee was 
brought to him by a member of General Humphrey's 
staff. In it Lee acknowledged Grant's last letter, and 
proposed a meeting to make terms for the restoration 
of peace. 

To this Grant replied that he had no authority to 
treat on the subject of peace, and that the meeting 
proposed could lead to no good. 

During the night of the 8th Lee had continued his 
race for the life of his army by the narrow neck of 
land formed by the Appomattox and the James rivers. 
If Sheridan, who was hurrying with prodigious energ}^ 
to close this outlet, was successful, all hope for Lee's 
escape was over. 

At last Sheridan succeeded in the important task of 
throwing his cavalry squarely across Lee's line of 
march. On the 9th the head of Lee's columns came 
marching up and found that Custer's cavalry had 
possession of his trains. His only remaining chance 
was to cut his way through Sheridan's lines. 

Thus pressed, a thin line of wearied and hungry 
Confederates under Gordon and Longstreet, all that 
remained of the once proud Army of Northern Vir- 



LEE'S RACE FOR LIFE 275 

ginia, began the hopeless fight with wonderful skill 
and vigor. 

Sheridan, resisting with his cavalry, fell back slowly 
in order to give time for the Fifth Corps to come up. 

When at last the hungry, muddy, and weary Con- 
federates caught sight of the gleaming muskets of the 
Union infantry advancing, they knew that all was 
over, and word was sent at once to Lee. 

Sheridan had ordered a charge; men and officers 
wanted to go in and finish the war at once. His men 
were already advancing, when a mounted officer with 
a flag of truce rode to his lines, with a letter from Lee 
to Grant, asking for a suspension of hostilities with a 
view to surrendering his army. 

The surrender took place in a house at Appomattox 
Court House owned by a man named McLean. 

General Lee was in advance of Grant and already 
was at the house. Grant, in the uniform of a private 
soldier, with shoulder straps sewed to the shoulders 
of the blouse, with muddy trousers tucked in his boots, 
entered the room, which was already partly filled with 
his officers and Lee's staff. Lee sat rigidly, pale and 
impassive. He wore a new gray uniform and a mag- 
nificent sword. Grant, in his simple dress, walked 
at once towards him. Lee arose and they shook 
hands. Grant was haggard with fatigue, but his 
headache left him at once when he got Lee's letter, 
proposing surrender. 

His sympathy for the conquered chief of the Con- 
federacy was shown by his manner and voice. He 
was reluctant to introduce the purpose for which they 



2/6 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



had met and it was left for General Lee to mention it 
first and to suggest that the terms be written out 
by Grant. 

Grant seated himself at a small table, wrote out his 
terms in lead pencil, and carried the paper to Lee who 
remained in his seat, with the considerate politeness of 
the younger man to his elder. 

The terms he wrote out were : " The officers 
to give their individual paroles not to take up arms 
against the government of the United States until 
properly exchanged; and each company or regimental 
officer sign a like parole for the men of their command. 
The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked 
and stacked, and turned over to the officer appointed 
by me to receive them. This will not include the side 
arms of the officers nor their private horses or bag- 
gage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed 
to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by the 
United States authority so long as they observe their 
parole and the laws in force where they reside." 

When Lee read the last part of this letter, as if 
moved by its generosity, his face changed, and he 
said, " This will have a most happy effect upon my 
army." 

More generous terms were never gi\en to a con- 
quered army. They were no longer foes^ but fellow- 
countrymen. 

Grant would allow no manifestations of rejoicing 
over the Confederates to humiliate them. He made 
no triumphal displays but began to give orders at once 
looking to the coming of peace. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
grant's call to the presidency 

Grant announced the surrender of Lee's army in 
the following simple sentence : " General Lee sur- 
rendered the Army of Northern Virginia this after- 
noon on terms proposed by myself." But these words 
flashed over the country set the North wild with joy, 
for the boys who had left their homes were coming 
back. They were about to take their places again on 
the farms, in the workshops and schools and the varied 
pursuits of peace. 

Grant's name was on every lip, and his praise was 
as hearty as a grateful, rejoicing people could make 
it. From the beginning it seemed Grant's fortune that 
he should be either unduly blamed or overwhelmingly 
praised. 

After the surrender of Lee he knew that the other 
armies must surrender, and he had faith that Sherman 
could negotiate just and proper terms for the surrender 
of Johnston, who commanded the principal Confeder- 
ate army remaining in the field. So, without visiting 
Richmond, or witnessing the actual laying down of 
arms of the army that had so long defied capture, 
with characteristic simplicity of purpose he went to 
Washington and began the work of stopping the pur- 
chase of supplies, canceling the charters of vessels, 

277 



278 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



ordering the discharge of convalescent soldiers, and 
stopping recruiting. Then, disregarding the invita- 
tions of all kinds that were pressed upon him and keep- 
ing aloof from all demonstrations of those who would 
like to glorify his great victory and himself, he started 
at once for New Jersey to see his children. 

Grant had reached Philadelphia and was about to 
embark at Camden Station when the terrible tidings 
came that Lincoln had been assassinated, and that his 
presence was required in Washington. He was the 
one man who could prevent panic and restore con- 
fidence there. An attempt had been made to murder 
William H. Seward, the Secretary of State, and it 
had been feared that Grant, too, had been killed by the 
assassins. 

Grant's arrival in Washington brought great relief. 
With him at the head of the army it was felt that the 
country was safe. 

Andrew Johnson, the Vice-President, took the oath 
of office and became President. Johnston's army 
surrendered to Sherman, and the surrender of the 
other Confederate forces soon followed. The last 
gun had been fired and the boys were marching home- 
ward with joyful hearts. 

On the 23d of ^lay there began in Washington a 
grand review of all the armies of the United States 
lately in the field. The national capital was thronged 
with crowds of rejoicing people, many of them mothers, 
daughters, fathers, or relatives of the victorious boys in 
blue. On the reviewing stand were the President and 
his cabinet officers. The least conspicuous of all these 



GRANT'S CALL TO THE PRESIDENCY 279 



was the modest, self-effacing general at whose com- 
mand these armies had moved and conquered. 

On the first day the Army of the Potomac passed 
in review. As the colors of each regiment reached 
the reviewing stand, Grant made his official acknowl- 
edgments by bowing. Swiftly it passed in review, 
moving like a machine governed by a single will. The 
brave Army of the Potomac, an army with many dis- 
heartening defeats on its records, at last was trium- 
phantly victorious. 

The next day the Army of the West marched in 
review, with Sherman, the grand soldier, at its head. 
In comparison with the Army of the Potomac the men 
of this army looked rough; their uniforms were faded 
and ding}^; it was like a weather-beaten craft coming 
into port after encountering many storms. They had 
on their faces the stern, proud look of men who were 
never defeated. They were men who had fought 
under Grant at Vicksburg and Chattanooga and who 
had marched with Sherman from Atlanta to the sea; 
a conquering host whose glory is imperishable. 

Sheridan, the gallant soldier, was not there. Grant 
had sent him to the Texan frontier to watch the 
French forces that were invading Mexico. He was 
resolved that they should not carry out their scheme 
to establish a monarchy there. If Seward, the 
Secretary of State, had not assured him that the 
troops of Emperor Maximilian could be made to with- 
draw without fighting, he would have driven them 
from Mexico. 

Only once during the grand review did the general 



28o 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



show himself on horseback. Grant on horseback and 
Grant afoot were, in appearance, two different men. 

It was a revelation to the throng when the modest 
soldier was mounted. He was transformed, when 
on this burnished-like steed, with superb horsemanship 
he rode; it was Grant the soldier, the man of Donel- 
son and Appomattox. 

The American people desired to show Grant every 
possible honor. On his way to West Point he stopped 
in New York City. His reception there was a great 
contrast with his coming there, eleven years before, 
after his resignation from the army, friendless, with- 
out money, and alone. His name was now on every 
lip; he was the hero of the nation, loved by all who 
loved their country. He made no speeches, but mod- 
estly passed on, leaving people wondering if this plain, 
unpretentious man could be the conquering hero of 
Appomattox. 

General Scott received him at West Point. There 
could scarcely be a greater contrast than between these 
two soldiers. General Scott over six feet in height, 
in brilliant uniform, very ceremonious and formal in 
manner, towered above and outshone the modest little 
man, in simple, plain dress, who at one time aspired 
to the position of assistant professor of mathematics 
at the Military Academy. Some people believed Grant 
to be a great soldier, but General Scott knew him to 
be the greatest soldier of his times. He presented 
him with a copy of his iMemoirs, in which he had in- 
scribed, From the oldest to the greatest General/' 

Grant visited Chicago to attend a fair held in the 



GRANT'S CALL TO THE PRESIDENCY 281 



interest of the Sanitary Commission, an organization 
of benevolent citizens to help the soldiers in the field. 
Here, as in New York, the people went wild with 
enthusiasm over him. He could not make a speech 
when called upon for one, in the great building where 
the fair was being held. Governor Yates, who had 
signed his commission as colonel, made a speech for 
him, in which he alluded to the time when Captain 
Grant reported, but four years before that time, nine 
hundred rusty muskets on hand in the state of Illi- 
nois for the defense of the United States ; and added, 

I have often said before what I am proud to say 
now: these fingers signed the colonel's commission of 
the world's greatest commander." 

General Sherman was present and was repeatedly 
called on by the audience for a speech. He responded 
by saying, " Always proud to back my old commander, 
I will do anything in the world he asks me to do; I 
know he will not ask me to make a speech." Grant, 
thus appealed to, said, " I never ask a soldier to do 
anything that I can't do myself." And the people 
shouted with laughter as he withdrew. 

Grant believed in justice and mercy towards the 
South. The sufferings of the Southern people had 
been great as a consequence of the war, and his heart 
was full of pity for these brave though misguided 
people. He believed in conciliation, united with firm- 
ness. He knew that the people were tired of vio- 
lence and war and wanted peace. 

President Johnson began his term as President by 
declaring that he intended to make treason odious, 



282 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



and illustrated this by proposing to arrest Generals 
Lee and Johnston, who had been paroled with the 
condition that they were not to be molested unless 
they violated their parole or disobeyed some law of 
the country. 

Lee wrote to Grant, in substance, asking if the 
parole granted at the surrender at Appomattox did 
not protect him from arrest, and enclosing to him an 
application for amnesty and pardon in accordance 
with the proclamation of the President. Grant for- 
warded this application to the Secretary of War with 
the following endorsement, Respectfully forwarded 
. . . with the earnest recommendation that this 
application of General R. E. Lee for amnesty and 
pardon be granted him." 

His manly, generous efforts did not cease there. 
He refused to execute any command of the President 
for the arrest of any soldiers he had paroled, unless 
they violated their paroles. To the President, who 
insisted that he arrest Lee, he said, " The people of 
the North do not wish to inflict torture on the South. 
As a general it is none of my business what you or 
Congress do with General Lee or other commanders ; 
. . . but a commander commanding troops has 
certain responsibilities. ... I have made certain 
terms with Lee, the best and only terms. As long 
as General Lee observes his parole I will never con- 
sent to his arrest. I will resign the command of the 
army rather than execute any order directing me to 
arrest Lee, or any of his commanders, as long as they 
obey the laws." 



GRANT'S CALL TO THE PRESIDENCY 283 



Against the inflexible resolution of Grant, the Presi- 
dent beat angrily but in vain, and neither Lee nor 
any other Confederate who surrendered under the 
terms given at Appomattox was ever arrested or tried 
for treason. 

So grateful were the people to Grant for his great 
services, that gifts of all kinds were showered upon 
him: swords, horses, carriages, money, and houses. 
Receptions were tendered him by cities North and 
South. He accepted these expressions of admiration, 
but it did not make him proud or less simple and 
self-effacing. In Canada his manner was such a con- 
trast to that of the officials whom they had been in 
the habit of seeing, that it was a revelation to them, 
and his simplicity and modesty occasioned much com- 
ment. 

He visited his old home in Galena, from which, 
four years before, he had departed with a small car- 
pet-bag and a lean purse, seeking a commission to 
serve his country. The most extravagant story of 
fiction could not parallel the contrast of his return 
as the most noted soldier with the most wonderful 
career and achievements that were ever known. The 
people were wild with enthusiasm to receive their 
hero; and by none of the great receptions given to 
Grant was he so deeply affected as by that given him 
in this little town where he had been a clerk in his 
father's leather store. The people left nothing un- 
done to give a fitting welcome to the man who had 
departed from their streets without influence, to re- 
turn after forty-eight months from making more his- 



284 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



tory and rising to the command of greater armies 
and performing more astonishing deeds than any other 
man known to history. To their astonishment he 
was the same simple, modest, unpretentious Grant 
who had gone away from there in 1861. 

People thronged from all the surrounding towns 
and states to bid him welcome and to do him honor. 
The people had erected arches over the streets, and on 
one of these was the inscription, " General, the side- 
walk is built ! " This was in allusion to the reply 
he had made when asked to allow his name to be used 
as a candidate for the Presidency, when he said, I 
am not a candidate for any office ; but I would like 
to be mayor of Galena long enough to build a side- 
walk from my house to the station." 

They had not only built the sidewalk, but also a 
beautiful house, furnished and all ready for him to 
live in. He visited his boyhood home at Georgetown 
and enjoyed talking with the old ladies and men that he 
had formerly known there, better than with more pre- 
tentious people. He even tried to make them a speech, 
something that he would not even attempt for Chi- 
cago or New York City. These people could not un- 
derstand that he was a great man and he did not 
want them to try. He was best pleased to be his sim- 
ple self, the country tanner's son, the farmer boy. 
In his sensible way he was a lover of simplicity and 
hard horse-sense, rather than of display or glorifica- 
tion. 

What was said by Emilio Castellar of Lincoln would 
apply to Grant, He was the humblest of the humble 



GRANT'S CALL TO THE PRESIDENCY 285 



before his own conscience; the greatest of the great 
before history." 

In November, at the request of the President, he 
visited the South in order to ascertain the condition 
of public sentiment there, pending the adjustment for 
reconstruction of the states lately in rebellion against 
the United States. 

With this in view he visited the principal cities of 
the South in plain citizen's dress, studying the people. 
He was so inconspicuous that he could observe with- 
out being observed. 

When his presence was known all parties. Confed- 
erate and Federal ex-soldiers and citizens, thronged 
to see him. To all he listened patiently and gravely. 

His conclusions were these: The thinking and 
sober men of the South accept the situation in good 
faith; and such was his report to the authorities at 
Washington. 

This report placed him in opposition to the radicals 
of the North, like Charles Sumner, who were in favor 
of keeping the South under a territorial form of gov- 
ernment for years. By such his report was stigma- 
tized as a whitewashing report. 

Shortly after this the President changed front and, 
from being radically in favor of being severe with the 
Southern people, put himself in the attitude of becom- 
ing the leader of a party composed of the recon- 
structed South and the peace Democrats of the North. 

Grant stood between the extreme men of both sides, 
holding that on the one hand dangerous concessions 
should not be made to the South nor on the other 



286 A LIFE OF GRANT 



needless severity shown towards them. His habit of 
clear thinking amid the most exciting conditions 
eminently fitted him to be a mediator between these 
extremes. 

Grant did not believe it wise to give votes to all the 
negroes who were so lately enfranchised. He con- 
sidered it dangerous. But when Congress decided to 
the contrary, he believed in the enforcement of the 
law. 

The President made a speech-making tour, taking 
Grant and Farragut with him to attract the people. 
In his speeches President Johnson constantly tried to 
make it appear that Grant and Farragut were both in 
favor of his policies. 

Grant was silent and impassive and only occasion- 
ally responded to the call for Grant ! Grant ! Grant ! " 
with a few w^ords. 

The real difference between Grant's views and those 
of President Johnson w^as that the latter w^as in 
favor of a policy which would have put the govern- 
ment into the hands of the South and of their North- 
ern sympathizers; while Grant held to a firm but just 
and generous treatment of the South, by those who 
had conducted the war and who had restored the 
Union. 

A bitter struggle between the President and Con- 
gress soon began, which finally culminated in an at- 
tempt to impeach the President of crimes and mis- 
demeanors. Wendell Phillips said in a speech in Chi- 
cago, " Our President is a traitor ; he is laboring to 
save the South from the consequences of defeat.'* 



GRANT'S CALL TO THE PRESIDENCY 287 



This was the extreme Northern view, but not without 
some truth. 

It was not to be expected that Grant's moderate, 
generous views would suit the radical men of either 
side. 

Military districts, under command of United States 
officers not below the rank of brigadier-generals, were 
now created by Congress throughout the South. Over 
these Grant was placed in command, with absolute 
authority over the states lately in rebellion. No one, 
not even the extreme Southern men, ever claimed that 
he was in this position ever guilty of injustice. Grant 
was, however, convinced that the President was capa- 
ble of dangerous and unwise acts. He wrote to Sher- 
idan, who was in command of one of the military 
districts in the South, " I very much fear we are fast 
approaching the time when the President will want 
to declare Congress itself illegal, unconstitutional, and 
revolutionary. Commanders in Southern states will 
have to take great care to see, if a crisis does come, 
that no armed headway can be made against the 
Union.'^ In all his orders to military commanders 
he instructed them that it was their duty to preserve 
peace and not to take part in political differences. 

In order to enforce his policy, the President re- 
moved the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, 
and appointed General Grant Secretary of War ad 
interim. 

Grant wrote remonstrating against Stanton's re- 
moval, but his letter was not made public. The Presi- 
dent also sent an order removing Sheridan from the 



288 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



command of the Fifth Mihtary District. Grant loved 
Sheridan and trusted him, and could not tamely see 
him removed from a position for which he was, in his 
opinion, so eminently qualified. He remonstrated 
against his removal, but without avail. On being in- 
formed, January 14th, that the Senate had not con- 
curred in the removal of Edwin M. Stanton as Sec- 
retary of War, Grant at once sent notice to the Presi- 
dent, saying, "My function as Secretary of War ad 
interim ceased at the moment of receiving the within 
notice." 

As a result, there was an issue between General 
Grant and the President. A controversy followed 
which vindicated General Grant in the opinion of all 
loyal men. 

The attempted impeachment of President Johnson 
failed by the narrow majority of one vote. 

Throughout these altercations with the President, 
Grant had conducted himself so wisely and temper- 
ately that when, two days after the acquittal of Andrew 
Johnson, the Republican party met in convention at 
Chicago, he was their unanimous choice for Presi- 
dent. 

He accepted the nomination, saying, " K chosen to 
fill the high office for which you have selected me, I 
will give to its duties the same energy, the same spirit, 
and the same will that I have given to the performance 
of all duties which have devolved upon me hereto- 
fore. Whether I shall be able to perform those duties 
to your entire satisfaction time will determine. You 
have truly said in the course of your address, that I 



GRANT'S CALL TO THE PRESIDENCY 289 



shall have no policy to enforce against the will of the 
people." He closed his letter with the famous words: 
" Let us have peace." 

In his more formal letter of acceptance he said: 

A purely administrative officer should always be left 
free to execute the will of the people." 

The Democratic party, whose platform represented 
the Southern sentiment as thoroughly as did that 
on which Grant stood the sentiment of the Union, 
nominated Horatio Seymour of New York as Presi- 
dent and General Frank P. Blair as Vice-President. 

In the political contest that followed all the bitter 
scandals that could be invented against Grant flew 
as thick as bullets had in his campaigns during the war 
for the Union, with the same result, — Grant came out 
unscathed. 

Grant would take no part in the campaign for his 
own election. He said very simply, If the people 
wish to make me President they will do so," and then 
went to his home in Galena. 

He was elected by an overwhelming majority and 
was made eighteenth President of the United States 
in 1868, He was fully aware, before accepting the 
nomination, that he was making a great personal sac- 
rifice. He was resigning his splendid life position as 
lieutenant-general of the army, with its congenial 
and accustomed work and great emoluments, a place 
in which he was the idol of the people as well as of the 
army, for a four-years' term, or at most eight years, 
in a new and troubled field in which he might fail of 
success, where he would be open to unsparing criti- 



290 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



cisni, and after which he would be simply a private 
citizen for the rest of his life. Nowhere in his career 
did General Grant show a higher patriotism than in 
accepting the nomination to the Presidency. 



CHAPTER XXIX 



GRANT AS PRESIDENT 

The war did not begin with the first gun fired or 
end with the last one. You know there was trouble 
as far back as the framing of the Constitution over 
the matter of slavery, and that trouble came year after 
year, just as did the question of state rights ; and the 
war debt is not paid yet, nor are all the questions 
growing out of the war settled. While the actual 
carrying on of war calls for generalship, the causes and 
results call rather for statesmanship. Even before 
Lee's surrender questions arose as to the manner in 
which the seceded states should come back to their 
place in the Union, and what should be done with the 
freedmen. 

The death of Lincoln took away the wisest brain 
and the strongest hand for dealing with the questions 
growing out of the war, and his successor, President 
Johnson, had neither been wise nor strong enough to 
meet these questions as they arose. The freedmen, 
having been made full citizens with the right to vote, 
were too ignorant to use new rights and fell into the 
hands of Northern men, many of them dishonest ad- 
venturers, who had removed to the South and were 
called " Carpet-baggers." At the same time Southern 
men had lost their political rights, so that the whole 

291 



292 A LIFE OF GRANT 



government of the Southern States was in the hands of 
negroes and carpet-baggers. This made it very gall- 
ing to Southern men, who terrorized the negroes and 
filled the South with violence and disorder. 

Then, the whole country was unsettled by the war; 
the immense war debt must be provided for and the 
currency settled; England must be called to account 
for allowing Confederate cruisers to be fitted out in 
her ports to prey upon American commerce. The 
country sorely felt the great need of a strong, wise 
man at the head of the government. 

In this crisis General Grant seemed to be the fittest 
man to be put at the head of affairs. To be sure he 
had no experience as a statesman, and this proved a 
very serious handicap: but he understood the people 
both North and South; he was a man of spotless 
honor and honesty, firm as a rock and yet kindly and 
charitable; a man of unusual common sense and not 
to be turned aside from a course he believed to be 
right. Besides, he was admired as a military man, 
and the American people are wont to choose Presidents 
among military heroes. 

And so it was that General Ulysses Grant, the tan- 
ner's son, was made President of the United States. 
On the east side of the Capitol building in Washing- 
ton a huge platform had been erected for the cere- 
mony of the inauguration of Grant to the office of 
President of the United States. In front of it was 
gathered a vast throng of people to w^itness the in- 
auguration. 

Dressed in a plain black suit, preceded by the dig- 



GENERAL GRANT AND HIS FAMILY. 



GRANT AS PRESIDENT 



293 



nified judges of the Supreme Court, Grant walked 
forward on the stage to take the oath of office, which 
was administered to him by Chief Justice Salmon P. 
Chase of the Supreme Court in these words, I do 
solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the 
office of President of the United States and will to the 
best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the 
Constitution of the United States." 

His inauguration address, which followed the taking 
of the oath of office, was plain, common sense prose, 
without a touch of sensationalism. Among other 
things he said, in substance, " All laws will be faith- 
fully executed whether they meet with my approval 
or not. I shall have a policy to recommend, but none 
to enforce against the will of the people. The best 
way to secure the repeal of bad laws is their execu- 
tion." He announced his foreign policy to be, to 
deal as justly with nations as the laws require in- 
dividuals to deal with each other. Of his treatment 
of the Indians he said, " I will favor any course to- 
wards them which tends to their civilization and ulti- 
mate citizenship." 

He closed his short inaugural address with these 
characteristic words, " I would ask patient forbear- 
ance, one towards another, throughout the land, and a 
determined effort on the part of every citizen towards 
cementing a happy Union, and ask the prayers of the 
nation to Almighty God in behalf of this consumma- 
tion." 

An incident occurred during its delivery which was 
very affecting to the audience, the most of whom 



294 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



could not hear a word of his address. His little 
daughter Xelly, getting tired of sitting by herself, 
walked to her father's side and stood there as if sup- 
porting with her innocence the purity of her father's 
intentions. The contrast between her frail, childish 
form and the stern soldier of many battles w^as 
strangely affecting. 

This address was well received, North and South. 
No one could pretend that they did not understand its 
meaning, and nearly everybody, especially " the plain 
people," believed that Grant meant everything he said. 
Some of the newspapers declared that it read like the 
bulletin of a great general ; it was natural that it should. 

After the inauguration, the crowd lingered hoping 
there would be a reception. Grant did not hold one, 
for he was averse to the " show business," as he called 
it. 

An incident occurred during his first night's posses- 
sion of the White House, which illustrated his sim- 
plicity and freedom from the military spirit. After 
retiring he heard the tramp of soldiers and the crash 
of ordering arms. He ran downstairs to see what it 
meant, and found that it was a night guard, and that 
it had been stationed there every night, for some time, 
to protect the President. Grant ordered the officer 
to take his men to their quarters, saying he could take 
care of himself ; then when they had departed, he 
locked his door and went to bed. Not a soldier was 
on guard at the White House after that during Grant's 
term of office. 

In selecting his Cabinet, President Grant showed 



GRANT AS PRESIDENT 295 

both the strength of his character and the Hmitations 
of his experience. It had been customary to choose 
for these places great poHtical leaders, but Grant knew 
little about politicians, and what he knew made him 
distrustful of them; so he chose his Cabinet just as 
he would have chosen a military staff, from his friends 
whom he knew and trusted; and these he expected 
would accept their appointments and obey orders just 
as soldiers would. He did not even consider it neces- 
sary to consult the men themselves, much less the poli- 
ticians at large, and some of them got their first in- 
timation of their appointment from th^ newspapers. 

This military proceeding not only gave the Presi- 
dent an inharmonious and weak Cabinet, but it made 
powerful enemies among the politicians and raised a 
cry of favoritism and militarism among the people. 
It must be admitted that Grant was not so keen a judge 
of men in civil life as in the army, and more than 
once he was saved from being drawn into the plots 
of unscrupulous men only by his own personal honesty 
and good sense. It was natural that he should some- 
times make mistakes in the conduct of political affairs ; 
but he was too honest and intelligent to make any very 
great mistakes. 

The same qualities that made him a great general 
made him a great President. If we judge Grant by 
what he accomplished as President, he was a great 
statesman. He vetoed the inflation bill, which was 
a triumph over financial demagogues; he secured the 
Treaty of Washington, which settled irritating points 
of dispute between Great Britain and the United 



296 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



States that were likely to involve them in war, such as 
the unsettled boundaries between Washington territory 
and British Columbia, the rights of United States 
fishing vessels in the bays of British America, but 
above all the prominent question, whether Great 
Britain had not violated her obligations under the 
laws of nations by allowing the Alabama and other 
vessels to be fitted out in her ports to prey upon Amer- 
ican commerce. There had been a strong sentiment in 
favor of war with England, but by this treaty these 
questions were adjusted peacefully by being referred 
to a tribunal made up from men of disinterested na- 
tions. They decided that Great Britain had been 
negligent in fulfilling her obligations and assessed 
damages at $15,000,000, which was promptly paid. 
Thus by wise arbitration disputed points were settled 
and possible war averted. 

His Indian policy, by which the management of 
their affairs was transferred from the old agents 
to agents recommended by religious societies in whom 
the Indians had confidence, and the cooperation with 
these agents by the officers of the regular United States 
Army stationed with or near them, was another tri- 
umph of his far-seeing sagacity. 

In firmness and fairness in dealing with great ques- 
tions he showed his high capacity and integrity. He 
took no one into his confidence, not even his wife ; 
that was his military habit, and was to be expected. 
His estimate of men was generally correct, but he 
preferred those whom he knew and who were his 
friends to fJtrangers. 



GRANT AS PRESIDENT 297 



In spite of the evident honesty of his purpose he 
was soon bitterly attacked, and disappointed office- 
seekers set up a howl. He had not consulted the 
politicians in forming his Cabinet. He had appointed 
Washburn, the Representative from Galena, to be his 
Secretary of State, and A. T. Stewart, a great New 
York merchant, to be Secretary of the Treasury. He 
thought that a man who had succeeded so well with 
his own financial affairs was likely to succeed with 
the finances of the nation. But Mr. Stewart was not 
eligible for the place, legally, while conducting his 
own business, so George S. Boutwell was made Sec- 
retary of the Treasury. Washburn was made Min- 
ister to France and gave up the position to which he 
was first assigned, and ex-Governor Hamilton Fish 
was made his Secretary of State. 

Grant listened to what others said, but would not 
discuss his appointments before making them, and this 
did not suit the politicians. He distrusted and dis- 
liked, possibly without reason, mere politicians who 
were intent on pushing their way to positions of honor. 

He was accused of giving his friends office, and 
charged with making the White House a military 
headquarters. In point of fact there were but two 
military officers in the White House besides his own 
son. Colonel Fred D. Grant, and these served the 
President without any pay except their army pay. 

His attachments through life were very strong; to 
the last he believed in those with whom he had 
formed ties of friendship, and it was not strange that 
he gave appointments to them in preference to those 



298 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



who were recommended by politicians for political 
reasons. One of his strongest characteristics was that 
of sticking to friends when, as he termed it, they were 
" under fire." 

It was brought against him that his methods of 
rule were military, but did not the times need a man 
of that character in the Presidential chair? The 
South, though defeated on the battle-field, yet hoped 
to recover by political methods, or violence, that which 
it had lost. With the purpose of keeping the blacks 
of the South from the ballot box, there was organized a 
secret society known as the Ku Klux Klan. It was 
shown by an investigating committee appointed to 
ascertain the facts, that many murders were com- 
mitted by this Klan, and that they hesitated at noth- 
ing that might restore them to the power they had lost. 
They whipped, murdered, and tortured as part of their 
policy. 

Grant held them in check with a strong but merci- 
ful hand. He determined to stop murder and intimi- 
dation of black men, and did it. He executed all laws 
faithfully and fairly, even when he did not like them.; 
for he did not feel that it was his place to question 
their wisdom or qualif}^ their rigor. When he vetoed 
a measure, it was to emphasize his individual views. 
He did not allow any member of his Cabinet to dictate 
what he should do or should not do. 

During his term of office he spent the warm months 
at Long Branch, to get away from the unhealthful heat 
of the capital. Though much fault was found with 
him for so doing, yet almost every President has fol- 



GRANT AS PRESIDENT 



lowed a similar course since. He entered into the 
social pleasures at Long Branch to some extent, but 
he cared little for society affairs except as a gratifica- 
tion to Mrs. Grant. He could not dance and had no 
society small talk. He was deferential to women, 
but never courtly or gallant; but, better than that, he 
was simple and dignified. 

A foreign newspaper man who visited him at the 
White House thus described him : " Like all great 
men, he is simplicity itself. I had heard a great deal 
of the gallant soldier, but I never felt more impressed. 
He talks little, li possible, he receives every one. 
I found this great man affable and just in his remarks, 
courteous in his demeanor, and the mode in which he 
shakes hands told me at once of his sincerity and 
honesty of purpose. None of his portraits do 
him justice. His head is larger than any of the 
portraits represent. His beard is fair, and there is 
a peculiar softness in his eyes. And in the few sen- 
tences with which he favored me I perceived a most 
robust common sense. I left the Executive Mansion 
convinced that the United States had an honest man 
at its head — a soldier with an iron resolution." 

During his first term of office Grant began his hu- 
mane reform policy towards the Indians, which has 
been continued ever since by his successors in office. 

He urged the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment 
to the Constitution of the United States. He also 
recommended that general amnesty to those lately in 
rebellion be adopted. He also appointed a commis- 
sion to study Santo Domingo, and report on the ad- 



300 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



visability of annexing it. In this he met with violent 
opposition. Charles Sumner took especial offense at 
this action, charging Grant with corruption and un- 
just use of power. President Grant had the whole 
matter brought up again, recommending that these 
charges and the whole matter be investigated by a 
committee. 

Among those he appointed on that committee was 
Mr. Andrew D. White of Cornell University, a friend 
of Charles Sumner. 

As the committee was about to begin on the duty 
assigned to it, Grant said to Andrew D. White, " As 
President of the United States, I have no orders to 
give you. My duty as President ended with your 
nomination. As a man I have a right to give some 
instructions. It has been publicly charged that I am 
connected with transactions in the island of Santo 
Domingo looking to personal advantage. Now, as a 
man, I charge you strictly that if you find that I am, 
directly or indirectly, in the least degree connected with 
any such transaction in the island of Santo Domingo, 
drag me forth and expose me to the American peo- 
ple." It need hardly be said that the commission- 
ers did not find anything to sustain Sumner's slander, 
and that their report exonerated and sustained the 
President as free from all blame. Sumner, however, 
kept up his bitter attacks, to which Grant made no 
reply to the last. 

Disappointed office-seekers raked Grant's record. 
The Southern men and their sympathizers called the 



GRANT AS PRESIDENT 301 



peace the country enjoyed, a bayoneted peace. They 
called his government a personal government, and 
united with disappointed men to slander him. If any- 
thing, they were more bitter than they had been against 
Abraham Lincoln, whom they pelted with slander and 
bitter invectives to the very verge of the grave. 
Grant's only reply to their lies was, " I am willing 
to put my acts against their words." 

Grant ended his first term with a decided gain in 
the good will of the country, North and South. He 
had shown the same foresight, mercy, firmness, and 
statesmanship in his great office that he did when 
he made such terms with Lee as allowed him and his 
soldiers to go to their homes and take up the avoca- 
tions of peace. 

General Longstreet was one of the Confederates 
who had accepted the situation after the surrender 
in good faith. Grant made him Surveyor of the 
Port of New Orleans. Longstreet, knowing that the 
appointment would bring reproach upon Grant, re- 
quested him to withdraw his name ; but Grant, refusing 
to do so, stood by his friend of former years and 
the nomination was confirmed by Congress. He 
knew that Longstreet was a poor man and he took 
this method of showing his sympathy with men 
against whom he had fought. Mrs. George E. Pick- 
ett, wife of the Confederate officer who led the charge 
at Gettysburg, called with her husband on Grant while 
President. Grant had known Pickett at West Point 
and offered to appoint him Marshal for Virginia. 



302 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Pickett generously said, You can't afford to do it." 
Grant said in reply, " I can afford to do anything I 
please that is right." 

That remark was the keynote of his statesmanship 
during his first term as President. 

At the close of his first term the Republican party 
again unanimously nominated him as President; and 
he was elected, in spite of bitter opposition, by a great 
majority. 

In his second inaugural address he said, My ef- 
forts in the future will be directed to the restoration 
of good feeling between the different sections of our 
common country, to the restoration of our currency, 
to the construction of cheap routes of transit through- 
out the land, to the maintenance of friendly relations 
with all our neighbors and with distant nations." 

He closed by saying, " I look forward with the 
greatest anxiety to the day when I shall be relieved 
from responsibilities that, at times, are almost over- 
whelming, and from which I have scarcely had a res- 
pite since the firing upon Fort Sumter. I did not 
ask for place or position. ... I performed a 
conscientious duty, without asking promotion or com- 
mand, and without a vengeful feeling toward any sec- 
tion or individual. Notwithstanding this, through- 
out the war, and from my candidacy for my present 
office in 1868, I have been the subject of abuse and 
slander scarcely ever equaled in political history, which 
to-day I feel I can afford to disregard, in view of your 
verdict, which I gratefully accept as my vindication." 

In this manly way was his long, patient silence 



GRANT AS PRESIDENT 



broken in answer to his bitter and malicious assailants, 
whose names history will not remember except to 
blame. 

He consistently advocated the resumption of specie 
payment, and it was resumed during his administra- 
tion; and for this high credit should be given him 
above all other men. 

It was during his second term of office that he ve- 
toed the inflation currency bill which proposed to 
reissue fifty millions of greenbacks which had been re- 
tired. His veto prepared the way for specie resump- 
tion and defended the faith of the government. 

He was evidently amused at criticisms of his silence 
at times when ordinary men would have been pro- 
voked to talk. General J. B. Cox in his interesting 

Military Reminiscences " says, " One day during his 
Presidency he came into the room where the Cabinet 
was assembling, laughing to himself. * I have just 
read,' said he, * one of the best anecdotes I ever met. 
It was that John Adams, after he had been President, 
was one day taking a party out to dinner at his home 
in Quincy, when one of his guests noticed a portrait 
over his door, and said, You have a fine portrait of 
Washington, Mr. Adams ! " " Yes," was the reply, 
" and the old wooden-head made his fortune by keep- 
ing his mouth shut," ' and Grant laughed again with 
uncommon enjoyment. Grant's telling the story 
seemed to me more amusing than the original. He 
showed no consciousness that it could have any appli- 
cation to himself." 

The Southern problem was still a very difficult one. 



304 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



There were riots in the streets of New Orleans. 
There was war between the two factions composed, on 
the one hand, of the " White Democracy " of the South, 
and the " carpet-bag " element from the North which 
united with the negro voters. Kellogg had been 
elected Governor by the latter element and had been 
recognized and sustained by Grant ; for, as he claimed, 
it was not his part to pass upon the legality of enact- 
ments, and he had no choice but to sustain him. At 
the same time he saw that the Southerners had cause 
for complaint, and had troubles of their own. To 
them he said, " Treat the negro as a citizen and a 
voter . . . and politics will be divided, not on 
the color line, but on principle. Henceforth there 
will he no child's play; the lazvs unit he executed!" 
That settled it. The malcontents gave up the fight. 
They knew that Grant meant what he said and they 
took his advice. 

In 1875 abuse of Grant had died away. He had 
shown consistency, strength, and justice; and the 
great good he had done overbalanced small errors of 
judgment. But, in the midst of the calm, there burst 
a storm. 

Great frauds were discovered in the revenue depart- 
ment, and some of the officers of his appointment hav- 
ing been guilty of great dishonesty, attempts were 
made to connect Grant with these frauds. A friend 
wrote to Grant stating the insinuations that were being 
made against him. Grant at once sent this letter to 
the Secretary of the Treasury with this strong en- 
dorsement : " I forward this for the information and 



GRANT AS PRESIDENT 305 

to the end that, if it throws any light upon new par- 
ties to summon as witnesses, they may be brought out. 
Let no guilty man escape, if it can be avoided. Be 
especially vigilant against all who insinuate that they 
have high influence to protect them." 

At that time there was a Democratic majority in 
Congress, and among them over a hundred ex-Con- 
federates, who, combining with Northern sympathizers 
and Grant's Republican enemies, tried to defame him. 
But the bitterest of his critics had to admit that there 
was not one word of evidence against Grant, and were 
obliged, after hiring detectives and lawyers, to de- 
clare, " We do not believe the President has been in 
the slightest degree party to these frauds." On the 
contrary, he meant every word he said in his famous 
edict, " Let no guilty man escape." 

Such a vindication from one's enemies is seldom 
vouchsafed to any man. It was the best defense of 
his impregnable integrity. 

There was set on foot an attempt to nominate him 
as President for a third term, but this he would not 
allow. 

None would have been more willing than himself to 
admit that, called to a difficult position without experi- 
ence, he had made serious mistakes. Dishonesty was 
rampant after the great war, but Grant was incor- 
ruptible. On the whole in his administration of his 
great office he was wise and great. 

His last days as President were those that called for 
a firm hand. The Democrats claimed that they had 
elected Samuel J. Tilden as President of the United 



3o6 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



States, while the RepubHcans claimed that they had 
elected Rutherford B. Hayes by a majority of one 
vote. There was much excitement, and bad feeling, 
which seemed likely to breed serious trouble. An 
electoral bill to settle peaceably the differences between 
the contestants was passed by Congress, and Grant 
signed it. He kept a firm hand on the department, not 
to carry out his own will, but to seat the man declared 
elected President. It is possible he thus saved the 
country from bloodshed, if not rebellion. His whole 
attitude was so just to all parties, that all reasonable 
men of both sides commended it. 

Although by no means without fault, he was un- 
doubtedly the best man for President in those diffi- 
cult times. In small matters he had erred, no doubt ; 
but his keen insight and unerring instinct found the 
right party. Against the schemes of self-seeking men 
and unthinking clamor he stood like a rock in mid- 
ocean, swept by the waves — but immovable. As was 
said by Andrew D. White, he was one of the noblest, 
purest, and most capable men who ever sat in the 
Presidential chair. 



CHAPTER XXX 



A VISIT TO FOREIGN LANDS 

After sixteen years of strenuous work and anxiety 
since his entrance into the army after the firing upon 
Fort Sumter in 1861, to the close of his two terms 
of office as President, Grant was once more a citizen. 
Notwithstanding the strain he had so long been under, 
he was as light-hearted as a boy let loose from school 
for a vacation. But his energies had been so severely 
taxed by his arduous public service that he felt the 
need of rest and recreation. 

At the close of his two terms he was still as poor as 
when first made President. About all the money and 
property he possessed had been given him by friends 
and admirers. He now sold off some of his stock and 
other property, and this with the ready money he had 
on hand amounted to about twenty thousand dollars. 
With this amount he determined to go abroad for a 
vacation and to see foreign lands. Ever since he was 
a boy he had had a desire to travel to see things for 
himself. 

The length of the trip, as he himself said, was to be 
measured by the money he had on hand : he would go 
as far as his money would take him. 

After he left the office of President, there was a 
strong reaction of sentiment in his favor and, with 

307 



3o8 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



few exceptions, the storm of slander and bitter criti- 
cism ceased. He was the recipient of many courte- 
sies and of enthusiastic pubHc receptions. The dis- 
play of good feeling on every side so impressed him 
that he said, with glad surprise, Why, it is just as it 
was immediately after the war." He was as grateful 
for this change of sentiment as for his freedom from 
the cares of office. 

His preparation for his trip was soon made. The 
government placed the Indiana, a United States vessel, 
at his disposal for as long as he wished to use it. 

Many receptions and ovations were given him be- 
fore his departure, and the people of Philadelphia 
gave him a glorious " send off " when he left that 
port, about the 15th of May. 

He proved to be as little affected by the storms at 
sea as he had been by storms of war, and enjoyed his 
trip. The stern lines written on his face by care and 
responsibility began to soften even before he reached 
Liverpool, where he arrived after eleven days at sea. 

As he approached Queenstown a steamer from Cork 
brought on board a party to invite him to visit Ireland. 
Though he did not visit that country at the time, he 
promised to do so in the future. 

Upon his arrival in Liverpool he found a vast throng 
of people gathered to welcome him. The city was 
decorated with flags, and great and enthusiastic de- 
sire to see the great American general whose fame 
had spread all over the world was shown by all classes. 
Thousands of English people pressed forward to greet 
him, even before he left the Custom House. There 



A VISIT TO FOREIGN LANDS 309 



were merchants, men of the middle classes, and work- 
ing people, on all of whom his career from a tanner's 
clerk to general and President seemed to have made 
a deep impression. 

He was formally presented with the freedom of the 
city by the mayor, and the people vied with each other 
in showing him attentions and honors. His reception 
here was one of the greatest surprises of his life. 

His journey to London was a series of ovations, all 
the more wonderful because so evidently a spontaneous 
outburst of popular enthusiasm for the great soldier 
and ex-President. His journey was more like the 
progress of some royal personage than that of a pri- 
vate citizen. 

At Manchester he was the guest of the city, and 
was lodged in the town hall, an honor never before 
paid to any one. Feeling obliged to reply to the 
speeches made to him, it surprised the people at home 
that he was able to make such apt speeches and good 
ones. He received these honors with great modesty, 
and in a speech acknowledging them said, " I know 
this is intended more for my countiy than for myself." 
His reception by the " plain people "of England was 
a revelation to the nobility and gentry, who seemed at 
first to stand aloof in London. The great heart of 
the English working-people and of the middle classes 
went out towards the republican ex-President and gen- 
eral, and the upper classes had to fc^ow in their lead ; 
for, in a smaller measure, the people rule in England 
as they do in this country. 

The modest man, in plain, simple dress and with 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



plain, simple manners, made a profound impression on 
the English people. No doubt they felt that this man 
of common ancestry with themselves had vindicated 
English as well as American manhood. 

As no steps had been taken by any one to make his 
visit an official one, all these honors were entirely un- 
expected by Grant, and naturally surprised him. 

In London he was at first received by the American 
Minister, Mr. Pierpont, and by a large , number of 
people of the middle class. Though he was intro- 
duced to the Prince of Wales at the races, the news- 
papers at first made only a small item of his arrival; 
but the interest constantly grew, and from items the 
newspapers began to give more extended notices of 
him, until columns were devoted to comments and de- 
scriptions. J\Iany receptions were given him, at which 
he met notable men of all classes. Among these were 
men and women of fashion, of a different character 
and class than he had ever before met, and with for- 
malities to which he was unaccustomed; but every- 
where he carried himself with such simple dignity as 
to excite the favorable comments of all. Among the 
assemblage of fashion Grant no doubt appeared rustic, 
for he never passed as a man of social culture. 

The freedom of the city of London was presented 
to him with imposing ceremony. There was a great 
banquet. Grant sitting at the right hand of the Lord 
Mayor. The latter in his address referred to Grant's 
great achievements as President and general, and said, 

You must bear with us. General, if we make much of 



A VISIT TO FOREIGN LANDS 311 



an ex-President visiting the home of his fathers," and 
then presented him with the right hand of fellowship 
as a London citizen. 

Grant expressed his surprise at his reception, and 
disclaimed the honor as intended for him, but for his 
country. " I have never felt," he said, " any fond- 
ness for war, and have never advocated it except as 
a means of peace." Later in the day, in response to 
the Lord Mayor in proposing his health, he said, I 
am not aware that I ever fought two battles on the 
same day and in the same place, and that I should be 
called upon to make two speeches on the same day un- 
der the same roof, is beyond my understanding. What 
I do understand is that I am much indebted to you for 
the compliment you have paid me." 

He dined with the Duke of Wellington, son of the 
great victor of Waterloo, and with the Prince of 
Wales, who later became King Edward VII of Eng- 
land, The workingmen of London presented him with 
an address which touched him deeply, to which he 
said in reply, after referring to the many receptions 
that had been given him, " There is no reception I am 
prouder of than this one. . . ." There was such 
a ring of sincerity in voice and manner as he said this 
as to carry conviction of its truth and sincerity. This 
speech won him the hearts of the common people of 
England, for they felt that he had been one of them 
and understood and was in full sympathy with them. 
The workingmen of England flocked to see this man 
of brawn who unaided by influence had risen from a 



312 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



clerk to be general and President, not by reason of 
birth, but by merit alone, and they recognized him as 
a prince among men. 

His receptions and honors meant that he was some- 
thing more than an ex-President and general; it was 
a tribute to a great personage of history whose fame 
w^ould increase with time. 

At home the very newspapers that had reviled and 
bespattered him with insulting epithets, now filled col- 
umns with accounts of his sayings and of the honors 
paid him in England. 

At Leamington he addressed the International Ar- 
bitration Union, saying that he had always been an ad- 
vocate of the principles they represented and would 
be glad to see the millions of men in arms who were 
supported by the industry of nations, returned to in- 
dustrial pursuits, thus becoming self-supporting and 
taking from labor the tax now levied for their support. 

The Newcastle Chronicle pictured him as " looking 
as much like a Tyne skipper as possible ; open-browed, 
firm-faced, blunt, bluff, and honest and unassuming; 
everybody at once settled in his own mind that the 
general would do." 

His reception in Paris was not as enthusiastic as in 
London on account of his firm policy regarding the 
French in J^Iexico ; and his congratulations to the Ger- 
man government at the close of the Franco-Prussian 
War were not relished or well understood by French- 
men. He was received by Gambetta and by President 
McMahon. Grant considered the former one of the 
great men he had met in Europe. McMahon wanted 



A VISIT TO FOREIGN LANDS 



313 



to show Grant his armies; but this compliment was 
declined on the ground that he did not care for military 
reviews or any reminders of war. 

In January he visited Egypt and took a trip up the 
Nile. 

In July he went to Berlin, where he was received by 
Bayard Taylor, then Minister to Germany from the 
United States. In Germany he was most interested 
in the common people and their pursuits, though it is 
a military nation and soldiers were seen on every side. 
While there he was presented to Bismarck, who ex- 
pressed much surprise to see so young a man. In 
course of their conversation Bismarck referred to the 
regrettable fact that Grant had to fight his own coun- 
trymen. Grant replied that it had to be done and 
when slavery fired on the flag it had to be destroyed, 
and that in so doing there could be no compromise. 

The meeting between these two great men was very 
cordial and Bismarck seemed as glad to meet Grant as 
was Grant to see Bismarck. 

Grant visited Denmark, Norway, and Sweden and 
spent the 4th of July at Hamburg, where he made a 
speech, and in reply to the remark that he had saved 
the Union said, " What saved the Union was the com- 
ing forward of the young men of the nation." 

He visited St. Petersburg and was cordially re- 
ceived by the Emperor Alexander. He returned to 
England and from there went to Ireland, where he met 
with an enthusiastic Irish welcome, especially in Dub- 
lin, where the freedom of the city was presented him 
in an elaborate casket of carv^ed bog wood. The city 



314 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



went wild over the great soldier ; and in a speech in re- 
ply to an address of welcome, Grant made mention of 
the fact that he had had the honor of representing 
more Irishmen and their descendants than did the 
Queen of England. 

He visited China, and admired Hong Kong as a well- 
kept and beautiful city. His reception by the civil and 
military authorities was the most cordial and enthusi- 
astic ever given to any foreigner of any rank. Grant 
attributed this to the fact that the United States was 
the only government that recognized China's right to 
control her own affairs. 

He made friends with the great viceroy, Li Hung 
Chang, whom he regarded as one of the four great 
statesmen of the world; ranking him with Bismarck, 
Gambetta, and Beaconsfield. 

Of all the countries visited by Grant, he found 
Japan, next to England, the most interesting. His 
reception there was as cordial and enthusiastic as it 
had been in England, and he pronounced the country 
"as a whole very beautiful and the people industrious, 
frugal, and intelligent. 

But he was becoming tired of receptions by royal 
personages; for, after all, he was more interested in 
the common people than in royalty and nobility ; their 
farming implements interested him more than pictures 
or statuary or fine buildings. A great bridge or any 
useful article appealed to him more than did the fine 
arts. 

He was getting homesick and wanted to see his na- 
tive land again, for Grant was a home lover and a 



A VISIT TO FOREIGN LANDS 315 

lover of his own land, to which he had given the best 
years of his life. 

He really had no home and so must establish one 
after his return; where, he did not know. 

When he had completed his tour of the world he 
was, in many ways, the greatest traveler that ever 
lived. He had met a greater variety of people, from 
kings, emperors, scholars, and statesmen to peasants, 
merchants, and artisans, than any other man that ever 
lived. His friends at home believed that he was bet- 
ter equipped by his travels to be President than any 
other living man. There was no doubt this was true. 
His observations in many lands and his intercourse 
with many classes had broadened his mind and was 
educative in a direction required by a great ruler of 
men. 

His friends and admirers desired him to take part in 
an effort to make him again President of the United 
States, but these plans he would not assist. "If the 
people want me for President again they will elect me," 
was his reply to those who entertained those designs 
which he did not contemplate for himself. 

On the 3d of September, 1879, he embarked on the 
steamship City of Tokio at Yokohama, and arrived at 
San Francisco on the 20th. Here he was met by a 
wonderful demonstration. A steamer, with General 
McDowell and an invitation party on board, met Grant 
and his party down the harbor, the mayor greeting 
him on the wharf with a speech of welcome. 

Some of those that welcomed him had known him 
twenty-five years before, when almost broken and 



3i6 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



friendless, he had left that city after his resignation 
from the army. Could anything be invented more im- 
probable than that the poor man who had left these 
shores in 1854 should return as a great general and a 
great President after being honored abroad as no 
American ever had been before? Could any invention 
of romance equal such a home-coming? 

The reception was one of the most elaborate and 
grand ever witnessed in that city ; but, above all, it was 
the most heartfelt. 

He visited Vancouver, Oregon, where he had been 
stationed as a lieutenant in 1853, and there made an 
address in response to the welcome of its people. He 
visited the principal towns in the state and was every- 
where received with enthusiasm. 

His journey from there to Chicago was one con- 
tinuous ovation. It was noted with surprise that he 
could now make a good speech, which he explained by 
saying that while abroad he had to make speeches, and 
it would seem uncivil after making speeches to for- 
eigners to refuse to do so at home. 

He talked without reserve on all subjects except the 
possibility of his running for President again. He 
spoke of Galena as his future home and thought. he 
would be contented there. When he was in Japan, he 
said, " I went into the mountains and remained for sev- 
eral days almost alone, and enjoyed it." On his ar- 
rival at Galena he was greeted with an ovation, and 
the people were pleased to see that, after all his travels 
abroad and his receptions by kings and rulers in all 



A VISIT TO FOREIGN LANDS 317 



lands, he was still the same simple, unpretentious man 
as when a clerk in his father's leather store. 

After a season of quiet and rest in Galena he went 
to Chicago to attend the reunion of the Army of the 
Cumberland, of the Army of the Tennessee, and a 
Camp Fire of the Grand Army of the Republic. 

He received here a soldierly welcome as heartfelt 
and as warm as he ever received in his life. 

He visited New Orleans and Vicksburg, at which 
latter place he said he was glad to come in at the front 
door instead of by the back way. At both places he 
received a hearty welcome from Confederate as well 
as from Union soldiers and citizens. 

His name was formally presented as a candidate for 
President at the Republican Convention. The atti- 
tude of Grant, when asked if he would allow his name 
to be used as a candidate, as President, was expressed 
when he said : " I owe so much to the Union men of 
the country that if they think my chances are better 
for election than that of any other candidate, I cannot 
decline if the nomination is tendered without seeking 
on my part." From the first 302 ballots were cast for 
him, and never over 313. During the contest word 
came, " The Sherman men say that they will support 
you if you will promise to put Sherman in the Cab- 
inet." Instantly Grant replied, though this support 
would have given him the nomination, I will not 
make any bargain in order to secure the nomination 
for President of the United States." 

When the convention at last nominated James A. 



3i8 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



Garfield, Grant said, as he brushed the ashes from his 
cigar, He is a good man; I am glad of it! " And 
there is no doubt that he meant what he said. 

He aided Garfield's election as President by making 
campaign speeches, something he had not done for 
himself or any other man, and it was believed that 
Garfield's great majority was largely due to Grant's 
power and influence. 



CHAPTER XXXI 



THE TRAGEDY IN WALL STREET 

General Sherman, who understood Grant and his 
wishes better than most men, said in a letter written 
previous to the meeting of the RepubHcan Convention, 
" Grant does not want to be President again. He 
wants employment; he wants to make money." 

His family urged him to go to New York and, in 
compliance with their wishes, he bought a house on 
East Sixty-sixth Street as a permanent residence. 

His position as the most illustrious of American 
citizens required him to live in better style than most 
men; and yet he had not the means of doing so unless 
he could earn money. His family, after he became 
general and President, took on expensive ways of liv- 
ing and Grant, though very simple in his own habits, 
wanted to gratify all their wishes. Inordinate love 
of his family was one of his prominent traits. Now 
Grant was a mere child in business. He had no busi- 
ness training and the expedients and crafty ways of 
Wall Street were not his ways. 

His son, U. S. Grant, Jr., had, during his father's 
trip around the world, become associated in business 
with Ferdinand Ward, a mere boy in years, but who 
was thought to be a young Napoleon of finance. Gen- 
eral Grant became friendly with Ward and, finally, 

319 



320 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



became a silent or special partner in the brokerage 
business of Grant & Ward. Mr. James D. Fish, 
president of the Marine Bank, was also a special part- 
ner in the firm. 

Grant borrowed $50,000 of his friend, Commodore 
C. K. Garrison, and later put into the firm $50,000 
more, belonging to his wife, which, all together, gave 
him an equal share in the business with the other part- 
ners. 

Ward was the financial agent and manager of the 
firm, had full control of its money, and made all of its 
investments. 

The firm at once felt the influence of General Grant's 
name and entered upon a most flourishing business 
career. It was quoted in Bradstreet's as first-class, 
and its credit was undoubted. Though the general 
had no detailed knowledge of the business and asked 
for none, its character was regarded as clean and se- 
cure. He had confidence in his son and Ward, and the 
latter, having full control of the money and invest- 
ments of the firm, did as he pleased. 

Ward and young Grant became directors in the Ma- 
rine Bank, of which Mr. Fish was president, and the 
firm of Grant & W^ard usually kept a large balance 
in that bank, as did also the Erie Railroad and the 
city of New York. 

Though Ward lived well, he had no bad habits to 
awaken any suspicions of irregularities, and he had 
the reputation of being a great financier. In less than 
three years the firm that had begun on a capital of 
$400,000 was rated at fifteen millions. 



THE TRAGEDY IN WALL STREET 321 



But Ward, without the knowledge of the Grants, 
was handling gigantic outside enterprises, of which 
they knew nothing, as there was a separate account 
kept of them. Although Grant & Ward was paying 
large dividends to investors, it was afterwards believed 
that the money for this was taken from the principal, 
or borrowed. 

General Grant was, meanwhile, enjoying his appar- 
ent business prosperity, living well, visiting and re- 
ceiving friends, and giving liberally. He took espe- 
cial pleasure in being generous to his army comrades, 
conferring favors upon ex-Confederate acquaintances, 
even those whom he knew but slightly. General J. B. 
Gordon, the famous Confederate leader, for example, 
came to New York to put the property of a South- 
ern coal company on the market. This appealed to 
Grant's generous nature, and his firm invested in it 
without much investigation, to the profit of General 
Gordon and its own loss. 

At his home he had the gifts that were made to him 
while abroad, — many of them priceless. But if, while 
showing them, any guest expressed particular admira- 
tion for an article. General Grant would insist on his 
acceptance of it as a gift. When his wife protested 
against this generosity, and would say, "If you give 
away these gifts, you will have none of them left for 
yourself," he would reply, laughingly, "There's enough 
to last me a lifetime." Some of these were very val- 
uable, and his giving them away so freely illustrates 
his generosity and his innocence of business. He en- 
joyed driving his horses, speeding them, as he called 



322 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



it, and took pleasure in his quiet way in playing so- 
cial games of cards with General Sheridan and other 
old army acquaintances. 

Grant had an income from a trust fund that had 
been given him by his friends and admirers, besides 
the money he was getting from the firm of Grant & 
Ward; so why should he not enjoy life and be gener- 
ous? 

But underneath this calm of seeming prosperity 
there lurked disaster and ruin, which came upon him 
as suddenly as a bolt of lightning from an unclouded 
sky. 

A few days previous to the coming of this disaster 
the general had been hurt by falling on the ice, and 
was obliged to use crutches. He was in the habit of 
visiting the counting-room of Grant & Ward daily. 
One fateful morning, when he had hobbled into the 
office, he saw something in the face of his son and 
others present that made him inquire, " How is it? " 

Young Grant, to whom the tidings of disaster had 
already come like an earthquake, excitedly replied, 
*' The Marine Bank has closed its doors and Grant & 
Ward are bankrupt." 

The general stood an instant and then, without a 
word, went painfully to his own office. 

It was the beginning of the end. It was, in reality, 
his death blow ! He was found sitting with his hands 
clutching his chair, his face twitching with every evi- 
dence of agony of mind. The thing that appeared to 
hurt him most was that Ward had been using his 



THE TRAGEDY IX WALL STREET 323 



name to obtain government contracts. This, though 
not improper in itself, seemed to him ignominious 
for an ex-President of the United States. He said, 
" I have made it the rule of my life to trust a man 
long after other people gave him up; but I don't see 
how I can ever trust any human being again ! " 

Instead of being worth millions, as the books of the 
firm seemed to show, the Grants found themselves 
without a dollar to meet the immediate expenses of 
the household, while debts pressed upon them for ad- 
justment or payment. 

Only a few days before the failure, the general had 
borrowed, at Ward's request, $150,000 of William K. 
Vanderbilt to bolster the credit of the ^larine Bank. 
As the books of Ward & Grant showed that there 
was $666,000 of the firm's money on deposit in that 
bank, young Grant had drawn a check payable to Van- 
derbilt for the loan. 

The bank having failed, this check was not good, 
and Fish claimed that the firm had already overdrawn 
its account. A representative of Vanderbilt, wishing 
to be secured on the loan, called on General Grant, 
who said, " That's right ; it was a personal loan, and 
shall be paid." He at once deeded to Vanderbilt his 
farm near St. Louis, a house in Philadelphia, and 
other property, besides conveying to him the souvenirs 
of his visit abroad, gold caskets, swords, and other 
valuable gifts given him by cities and sovereigns. (In 
his desire to make good his personal debt, he spared 
none of them.) 

His family were now in straits to meet their per- 



324 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



sonal expenses. In this emergency Mrs. Grant sold 
her Washington house, and the general his horses and 
carriages. Claims came to light of which they were 
not aware. Those who had lost monev, or claimed to 
have lost it, clamored to be secured by the Grants be- 
cause they had invested on account of the reputation 
of General Grant. The harpies and selfish cliques of 
Wall Street tried to drag Grant's name into its gutters, 
while some newspapers criticized him for his connec- 
tion with the firm. To their shame, many put the 
worst possible construction upon the affair, even insin- 
uating that Grant had gained money by Ward's failure 
and swindling methods. These insinuations, having 
no foundation in truth, embittered his last days. 

Ward, on his part, was manly enough to confess, 
during his trial, that the Grants knew nothing about 
his dishonest outside speculations. 

Fish, the president of the Marine Bank, in order to 
shield himself, claimed to have been a victim of the 
Grants ; but the courts tried them, and sent both Fish 
and Ward to Sing Sing prison. 

Grant was a victim of overconfidence in the men of 
Wall Street, like those who are still ruining so many 
who trust them. 



CHAPTER XXXII 



THE LAST BATTLE 

The failure of Grant & Ward, the resulting at- 
tacks on Grant's reputation by designing men who 
wished to clear their own skirts at his expense, to- 
gether with the malicious or thoughtless insinuations 
of newsmongers, were in reality, as previously said, 
Grant's death blow. He was sixty years of age, 
without a profession, without business, and appar- 
ently without ability to conduct business or make 
money, and he was now too old to learn. There 
seemed nothing left for the brave old soldier who had 
given so many years of life to his country but to step 
down and out from active life — and die. His vital- 
ity was impaired by his troubles, humiliations, and re- 
verses, and the life of care and anxiety which his great 
public work had imposed. The tragedy of Wall 
Street was the beginning of the end, yet it was his na- 
ture to fight on tenaciously to the last. 

He never went back to Wall Street again; for he 
was hurt to the heart by the treachery of pretended 
friends there in whom he had so implicitly trusted. 

At this time the Century magazine was publishing 
a series of articles on the Civil War written by Union 
and Confederate soldiers. He had been invited to con- 
tribute to this series, but had declined. They now 

32s 



326 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



repeated their request, with their usual Hberal offer of 
compensation, and Grant accepted; he was glad of the 
work, for it gave him something to live on and some- 
thing to think of outside of his troubles. An article 
for the magazine on Vicksburg followed his paper on 
Shiloh and was received with so much favor that pub- 
lishers induced him, by liberal offers, to write his 
Memoirs. 

As he had become interested in the work, he began 
at once to write. He wrote clearly and rapidly, and 
but little editing was required after his manuscripts 
had left his hands. He was thus engaged, from five to 
six hours a day, when he began to feel pain in swallow- 
ing solid food. The pain was not great at first, but 
continually increased. Finally an outward swelling 
of the throat gave warning of a serious malady. He 
consulted a specialist, but went back to his work, in 
which he had now become thoroughly interested. It 
was a relief for him to live in the past and forget the 
present and its woes ; it was a comfort and solace, as 
well as a promise of competency for himself, his wife 
and family. 

Gradually the pain of swallowing increased until it 
became impossible for him to take solid food, and he 
grew weaker and weaker. To add to his distress the 
creditors of Grant & Ward brought suit and tried 
to attach for debt the souvenirs that he had turned 
over to secure William K. Vanderbilt for the personal 
loan made him. He sent word to Vanderbilt to sell 
all the property he held, including the priceless gifts 
received from all over the world. Vanderbilt offered 



THE LAST BATTLE 



to turn over these gifts in trust to Mrs. Grant, but the 
general declined this offer, and these souvenirs from 
kings, cities, and friends were given by Vanderbilt 
to the government, and are now in the museum at 
Washington. 

Old friends and comrades dropped in to see him oc- 
casionally, and were always welcome, but his great 
solace was in the book he was writing, for it carried 
him into the past and helped him to bear the pains of 
the present and the forebodings of the future. 

A bill had been introduced in Congress to restore 
him to his former rank and pay, but met with oppo- 
sition and failed to pass. This hurt him. 

In February the first intelligence of Grant's condi- 
tion reached the public. He was already at that time 
so reduced as to be but a shadow of his former self. 
He had lost nearly fifty pounds in weight since the 
Wall Street tragedy. How much he was suffering no 
one knew, for he suppressed outward exhibitions lest 
they cause anxiety to his wife and family, and so 
fought his battles of pain alone. No doubt that this 
indomitable soul, even then, saw the end approaching 
and was determined to complete his last task, and de- 
serve the title his wife had given him of " Victor " till 
the last. 

When he had finished the first volume of his book 
he was confined to his room, and worked but little, 
though his great brain was full of thoughts of his past 
career. 

In March Congress passed the bill restoring him to 
his former rank and pay. The intelligence reached 



328 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



him when, to use his own expression, he was " a very 
sick man." Though he uttered no word of pleasure, 
no doubt this expression of the nation's confidence 
cheered him not a httle. 

In March the final verdict of the doctors came, like 
a threatening cloud of doom, " Grant has cancer of 
the throat." 

When this terrible verdict was made public, a tide 
of sympathy set towards their heroic soldier from the 
great heart of the American people. 

He could no longer take solid food, and it was with 
the greatest pain that he could swallow even liquids. 
He was pathetically patient and docile and obedient 
to his doctors and nurse, and would say to the doctors, 
" You command here ! " With that self-repression 
which was the wonder of his doctor and attendants, he 
kept his forebodings and pain from his wife. 

He could not sleep without opiates, but resisted tak- 
ing them lest he should lose control of his mind and 
will. 

His power to suppress outward symptoms of the 
agony that racked him excited the wonder of his doc- 
tor. " He is the most suppressive man I ever knew," 
said Doctor Shrady. 

His testimony was needed in the trial of Fish, the 
president of the Marine Bank, and he gave it, although 
it was with the greatest pain that he could speak. He 
bore witness that he had no knowledge of the firm's 
having been interested in government contracts, and 
that he had warned Ward that anything of that nature 
must end his connection with the firm of Grant & 



THE LAST BATTLE 



329 



Ward. It was dying testimony and carried convic- 
tion that no one could doubt. 

About the 5th of April he was thought to be dying; 
his pastor administered baptism, believing that his last 
hour had come. His family in agony of grief gath- 
ered around his bed. The doctor gave him hypo- 
dermic injections of brandy and he revived, saying, 
^' I want to finish my hook!'' 

As though the will that was back of that desire had 
given him an extension of life, he began to get better 
to a marvelous degree. There was a sloughing of the 
diseased tissue, and a wonderful improvement and in- 
creased freedom from pain. 

At one time when he was not expected to live, he 
was told that a large crowd of people was before his 
house anxiously waiting to learn his condition. The 
doctor said, " Tell me what you wish to say and I will 
give it to them in my bulletin." 

Feebly and hesitatingly Grant summoned his words : 
" Tell them I am very much touched and grateful for 
the s}TTipathy and interest manifested in me by friends, 
and by those who have not hitherto been regarded as 
friends." 

His marvelous gains in strength continued, and it 
began to look as though the doctors had been mistaken 
in diagnosing his case. The writer remembers how 
the newspapers ridiculed the doctors, and wrote in a 
tone of injury as though they had expended too much 
useless sympathy over General Grant's sickness. 

Grant began to take increased pleasure in his work 
again, but saying, "It is my life; every day, every 



330 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



hour, is a week of agony." In spite of pain and the 
agony with which this writing was done, his great brain 
worked with clearness and strength, and there was at 
times a clear insight into the future in his words that 
made them prophetic. Almost the last paragraph of 
his Memoirs pictures prophetically a new era of peace 
and harmony between North and South, which we at 
this day have been blessed to see dawn upon the na- 
tion that he loved. 

He had been dictating chapters of his book to a 
stenographer for some time, but soon the vocal cords 
were paralyzed by the approach of disease so that he 
could no longer speak, even in a whisper. Then he 
wrote, slowly but lucidly, until he at last had finished 
his book, for which the almighty power seemed to 
have been lent him to finish. His patriotism is illus- 
trated by the fact that in the midst of the gathering 
death agony, the very last message in his book is a 
hope of a continuance of the good feeling already in- 
augurated between North and South. 

" I am," he said, " easier when at work," and so he 
continued to put a few finishing touches here and there 
to it. 

Once, when interested or malicious persons de- 
clared that he was not writing the book, but that it 
was being written for him, he summoned strength to 
write to his publishers a denial of the lie. But though 
he was holding with his indomitable will the enemy, 
death, at arm's length, as he had the foe on so many 
a battle-field, yet the enemy was still there. 

In May he began to fail rapidly, and as the heat 



THE LAST BATTLE 331 



was intense, Mr. John Drexel offered the use of his 
cottage at Mt. McGregor for the use of the general. 

He now, more than others, reahzed that the end 
was near; that he was Hke one of old going upon a 
mountain to die. This was shown by two letters he 
wrote upon his arrival at Mt. McGregor; one to his 
doctor and one to his family, in which he had made 
memoranda of the things he wanted done after his 
death. 

He had finished his book, and was waiting to go. 
With all his pain and depression he retained his good 
nature and sense of humor, writing jokingly to his at- 
tendants and doctor. 

In July there came to the cottage a company of 
Mexican journalists who desired to pay their respects 
to a friend of their country. His face expressed in- 
terest and pleasure, and he wrote a reply to their words 
of sympathy and respect, which show how clear and 
strong his mind was, even at the verge of the grave. 

His old classmate and friend, Simon Buckner, who 
had surrendered Fort Donelson to him, came to see 
him, to assure him of the sympathy of many ex-Con- 
federates in his sickness and pain. To him he wrote 
this message, " I have witnessed since my illness just 
what I have wished to see since the war : harmony and 
good will between the sections. ... I believe 
myself, that the war was worth all that it cost us, 
fearful as it was. Since it was over, I have visited 
every state in Europe, and a number in the East. I 
know as I did not know before the value of our insti- 
tutions." Buckner, after the interview with the dying 



332 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



hero, passed with tear-dimmed eyes out from the 
house. But the words Grant had written to his friend 
went forth, North and South, as a last message of the 
love and conciliation which he had begun at Appomat- 
tox Court House. 

Shortly after this he wrote, slowly and painfully, 
on his tablet, " I think it doubtful if I last much longer 
than the end of the month." 

On the 22nd of July, at his request, he was laid upon 
his bed for the first time for many weary weeks. With 
a sigh of relief he stretched himself out, and soon 
after fell into a deep sleep. It was his last. The 
great and simple soldier had passed from storms of life 
to everlasting peace. 

When the intelligence of the death of their great 
soldier was flashed over the land, the heart of the peo- 
ple was profoundly stirred. In every village and city 
of the North memorial exercises, in which all parties 
joined, were held commemorative of his great deeds 
and faithful services to the nation. A general spirit 
of mourning for their loved chief prevailed. 

His funeral was grand in pomp and pageantry be- 
yond anything, except that of Lincoln, ever seen in 
this country; but the most significant and expressive 
part of all was that Union and Confederate soldiers 
joined in heartfelt mourning at his bier; Joseph 
Johnston and Simon Buckner marched side by side 
with Wilham T. Sherman and Philip Sheridan — the 
comrades who fought under him and the former ene- 
mies who fought against him — to his grave. All that 



THE LAST BATTLE 



gratitude, affection, and honor could give were lavished 
on the dead chieftain. 

By his desire he was buried in New York City, on 
the banks of the Hudson and among the people who 
had been generous and kind to him in his misfortunes. 
Over his mortal remains there has been erected by 
those who loved him the most imposing memorial 
tomb upon this continent. Here the Grand Army of 
the Republic keep faithful and reverent vigils over the 
remains of their great comrade and commander, whose 
tomb is fittingly inscribed with his fervent desire for 
the nation he so faithfully served : " LET US HAVE 
PEACE." 

The lessons of General Grant's life appeal to Amer- 
ican boys with peculiar force. He had the average op- 
portunities of American youth. We see him starting 
out in life without wealth or influence or those showy 
qualities that attract them. He won his way in times 
of national storm by deeds, not words. In every posi- 
tion, from colonel of a regiment to lieutenant-gen- 
eral commanding the greatest armies ever known, he 
proved his ability for still higher places. He did not 
seek for place ; the places sought for him as an impera- 
tive need. His work, well done, carried him upward 
and onward until he reached the heights of usefulness 
and fame. If, during his most trying periods of work, 
he was hampered by slander or misunderstanding or 
falsehoods, he did not reply in words, but patiently 
put his work as his only answer and vindication against 
words. 



334 



A LIFE OF GRANT 



He achieved success, not merely because his plans 
were good and his mind clear in their execution, but be- 
cause, back of these qualities, he had faith; faith in 
his cause, faith that right would ultimately prevail, 
and faith in success, of which General Sherman said, 
" I can liken it to nothing but a Christian's faith in 
his Saviour." It was this unwavering faith which, 
united to firmness that knew no yielding, and courage 
that knew no fear, and fidelity of patriotism that knew 
no faltering, that gave him persistency, tenacity, — 
doggedness if you will, — that was at last crowned with 
victory. 

Another great element that helped him to success 
was his simplicity. He illustrated the saying above all 
other men, that great men, like great thoughts, are al- 
ways the simplest. He was utterly without pretense ; 
and was it not this quality that saved him jealousies 
among his comrades in arms, and made them love 
him? 

Another great quality, of the negative sort, was his 
reticence. Silence, when great affairs were pending 
and words could do no good and might bring harm, 
and where weaker men might talk or explain, was a 
quality not to be underrated. It was said of him that 
at times his silence was harder for his assailants to 
bear than the most vehement speech. 

The motto on the coat of arms of his family in Eng- 
land and Scotland, STANDFAST " or " STEAD- 
FAST," illustrates his sterling character. To boys 
and girls who read this book there comes this lesson: 
It is not great learning, show, or pretense that brings 



THE LAST BATTLE 335 



success in a great crisis, but great elements of char- 
acter that make for rehabiHty, and steadfastness and 
purity of purpose, and that patriotism which is a more 
potent force in the affairs of a nation than thronging 
armies or frowning battleships. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2010 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 
10 l>ff 



